IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 50 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.ceog5002027
Open Access Original Research
Melatonin Alleviates Perimenopausal Sleep Disorders by Regulating the Expression of MTNR1A and Hormone Level: A Retrospective Study
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1 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Meidical University, 830063 Urumqi, Xinjiang, China
*Correspondence: chenpuxiang6752@126.com (Puxiang Chen)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2023, 50(2), 27; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.ceog5002027
Submitted: 15 August 2022 | Revised: 25 November 2022 | Accepted: 28 November 2022 | Published: 31 January 2023
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Sleep disorder, frequently observed among perimenopausal women, decreases quality of life. Melatonin is reported to ameliorate circadian imbalances and thus can be employed as a treatment for perimenopausal sleep disorder patients. We attempted to clarify whether and how melatonin affects perimenopausal sleep disorders. Methods: Study patients consisted of 120 perimenopausal women divided into 3 groups: (i) perimenopausal women without sleep disorder (n = 60); (ii) those with sleep disorder but without melatonin treatment (n = 30); and (iii) those with sleep disorder with melatonin treatment (n = 30). During the period March 2019 to December 2019, the following data was collected and analyzed: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index (PSQI) score, sex hormones, melatonin, melatonin 1A receptor (MTNR1A), protein kinase A (PKA), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), phosphorylation–PKA (p-PKA), and p-ERK1/2 levels. We compared these data between the groups. Results: Melatonin administration showed the following in female patients with postmenopausal sleep disorder: (1) significantly decreased the PSQI scores, (2) up-regulated melatonin levels and MTNR1A protein expression, (3) promoted the phosphorylation pathway of the PKA-ERK1/2 pathway in peripheral blood, and (4) significantly improved follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) levels. Melatonin administration had no significant effect on progesterone (P), testosterone (T) or prolactin (PRL). Conclusions: Melatonin therapy alleviated perimenopausal sleep disorders. Up-regulation of MTNR1A expression and improvement of the hormone balance were also observed, which may the reason for the observed sleep-disorder-amelioration. Melatonin has the potential to be a useful option for perimenopausal sleep disorders.

Keywords
melatonin
perimenopausal sleep disorders
MTNR1A
hormone balance
Funding
2018D01C225/Natural Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Figures
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