Melatonin ― Therapeutic Value and Neuroprotection

There is a growing interest in the field of melatonin research concerning its neurobiological mechanisms as well as its repercussions in clinical practice. A decrease in melatonin production and receptors results in numerous dysfunctions in the body. This text explores melatonin’s neuroprotective effects and discusses the therapeutic potential of melatonin and melatonin agonists in treating neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to addressing the neuroprotective role of melatonin, the book also explores its protective roles in other tissues such as the brain, heart, and liver.

Professor Venkataramanujam Srinivasan, PhD, MAMS, started his professional career as an assistant professor at the Institute of Physiology, Madurai Medical College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, where he served for 24 years. Along with teaching physiology to undergraduate medical students, he undertook various collaborative research studies with the Department of Psychiatry and published a number of papers on lithium, catecholamine metabolism, the pineal gland, and melatonin both in national and international medical and life sciences journals. He has also served as one of the advisory council members for the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE) for ten years. Professor Srinivasan then undertook teaching assignments as associate professor of physiology at the University Sains Malaysia (USM). He has collaborated on research publications with a number of professors and research scientists working in different universities internationally. Since May 2009, he has undertaken research studies on melatonin and melatonergic drugs from Sri Sathya Sai Medical Educational and Research Foundation, an international medical sciences research study center in Kovai Thirunagar, Tamil Nadu, India and has published number of papers in indexed medical journals. He also edited a book on melatonin and melatonergic drugs in clinical practice, published by Springer in February 2014.

Dr. Gabriella Gobbi is an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry, McGill University and a staff psychiatrist at the McGill University Health Center (MUHC), Montreal, Canada. Her research interests include understanding the pathophysiology of major depression and related disorders and discovering new treatments for them. In particular, her laboratory conducts research on the short- and long-term effects of cannabis use in mood and anxiety and the potential beneficial effects of drugs acting on the endocannabinoid system (endogenous cannabis) to cure mental diseases. Her lab also conducts research on the effect of melatonin in alleviating mood disorders and anxiety, and sleep regulation in an effort to understand how novel selective ligands for melatonin receptors (called MT1 and MT2 receptors) can be used to treat seasonal depression, major depression, sleep disorders, and other neuropsychiatric conditions.

Dr. Samuel D. Shillcutt is a tenured professor and director of neuropsychopharmacology research at Mercer University School of Medicine. His research has focused on translational studies connecting interpretation of basic science and clinical trials data to lead to effective treatment modalities. His interest in understanding the pathology and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders have led him to establishing the efficacy and safety of atypical antipsychotics, antidepressants, and medications used for Alzheimer’s disease. His research techniques involved using clinical investigation of psychopharmaceuticals, neurochemistry, and electrophysiology to determine human responses and using human tissue in cell culture to establish models for basic science investigation of potential novel compounds. His most current studies investigated the effects of melatonin-like substances in regulation of mood and sleep disorders in dementias.

Dr. Sibel Suzen is a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara University, and institutional coordinator of European Union (EU) student exchange programme (Erasmus Programme). She has been involved in several medicinal chemistry projects supported by the government and Ankara University. These projects are related to the synthesis and investigation of biological activity of aldose reductase inhibitory compounds, antioxidant compounds, indole derivatives, in vitro drug metabolisms by electroanalytical, and, most importantly, the synthesis and antioxidant investigation of melatonin derivatives.