SynthesisNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2025
Exploring the role of melatonin in managing sleep and motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease: a pooled analysis of double-blinded randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Status of research on the application of melatonin in insomnia based on bibliometric visualization analysis and development trends.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Time vortex: the circadian-dopaminergic dialogue in Parkinson's disease.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2026Review
- The biological clock in parkinson's disease: mechanisms and chronotherapy.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2026Review
- Exogenous Melatonin and Sleep Quality: A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews.Journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- Osteoprotective Effects of Melatonin on Bone Loss Associated with Dopaminergic Neuron Degeneration in a Rat Model of Parkinson Disease.Calcified tissue international · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundParkinson's disease (PD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, often involves sleep disturbances, affecting 88-98% of patients. Melatonin, a sleep-regulating neurohormone, shows the potential to improve sleep quality and non-motor symptoms in PD.
aimTo evaluate melatonin's efficacy and safety in PD patients with sleep disorders.
methodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane till January 2025. The risk of bias in the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Dichotomous outcomes were expressed as risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), while continuous outcomes were reported as mean differences (MDs) with 95% CIs.
resultsWe retrieved 2537 records. Five double-blinded RCTs were finally included. The meta-analysis revealed a significant improvement in sleep quality, as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), in the melatonin group compared to placebo (MD= -1.88, 95% CI: [-3.07, -0.68], P = 0.002). However, no significant differences were observed for the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (MD= -1.04 CI: [-2.81, 0.73], P = 0.25), total sleep time (MD = 14.85 min CI: [-5.45, 35.16], P = 0.15), sleep efficiency, sleep latency, REM sleep latency, frequency of arousals, or REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Screening Questionnaire (RBDSQ; MD = 0.74, P = 0.50). For Parkinson's disease-related outcomes, melatonin significantly improved Non-Motor Symptom Scale (NMSS) scores but showed no significant effects on UPDRS Part III scores or Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life.
conclusionMelatonin improves subjective sleep quality and non-motor symptoms in PD patients with a favorable safety profile, but effects on objective measures and motor symptoms remain inconclusive. TRIAL REGISTRY NUMBER: This meta-analysis was registered on PROSPERO. REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42024619496.
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