Does Melatonin Reduce Covid-19 Mortality?
Does Melatonin Reduce Covid-19 Mortality?
So this news looks promising! Melatonin is a supplement that acts as a natural sleep regulator that boosts immune function, helps recharge glutathione and may improve treatment of certain bacterial diseases. Studies show it also plays a role in viral, bacterial and fungal infections.
Pretty powerful already, but over the past two years, melatonin has also emerged as a surprise weapon against COVID-19, or al least in reducing the severity of the disease, and the overblown immune response and subsequent severe damage to the lungs that is present in the virus’ most critically ill patients. (Virus Res. 2020)
Then, on the last day of 2021, Melatonin Research published a research commentary discussing an October 2021 study which found melatonin significantly lowered mortality when given to severely infected COVID patients. According to the authors:
“In a single-center, open-label, randomized clinical trial, it was observed that melatonin treatment lowered the mortality rate by 93% in severely-infected COVID-19 patients compared with the control group.
This is seemingly the first report to show such a huge mortality reduction in severe COVID-19 infected individuals with a simple treatment. If this observation is confirmed by more rigorous clinical trials, melatonin could become an important weapon to combat this pandemic.”
Of course the usual media “fact checkers” will be all over this saying the evidence isn’t concrete. But it is and their spite simply shows how far out in left field they reside. For the rest of us, a 93 percent mortality reduction is a huge deal!
At less than $5 per course of treatment, melatonin is a cost-effective treatment when compared to Regeneron monoclonal antibodies that cost about $2,100 per dose and remdesivir at $3,100 per treatment. With no serious side effects, so it can be universally used to prevent the development of severe disease symptoms, reduce the severity of these symptoms, and/or reduce the immuno-pathology of the infection after the active phase of the infection is over. (Endocr. Pract.)
There’s an appropriate definition of melatonin in a medical encyclopedia that says this: "a vertebrate hormone secreted by the pineal gland especially in response to darkness ..." How appropriate that we’re finding out about all the wonderful properties of natural substances now, at this time of our lives.