DOST eyes melatonin as part of COVID-19 treatment

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has allotted P9.8 million to conduct clinical trials on the use of melatonin, taken usually by persons having trouble to sleep, as a supplementary treatment for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development had already approved the clinical trials of high-dose melatonin as adjuvant or supplementary treatment for COVID-19.

The clinical trials will be conducted by a team from Manila Doctors Hospital led by Dr. Rafael Castillo, columnist for Health and Wellness section of Inquirer Lifestyle. It will involve 350 patients over a four-month period.

According to Dela Peña, initial studies showed that melatonin had improved the outcome of patients with pneumonia and other “high-risk features.”

“Results of the project are expected to contribute to national and international guidelines on life-saving drugs and therapy that can impact mortality in COVID-19 patients,” Dela Peña said.

He pointed out that melatonin “is a safe, commonly available and affordable supplement.” Each 3 milligram capsule may be bought from pharmacies for less than P20.

Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by the pineal gland of the brain that regulates the body’s sleep-wake cycle.

As a dietary supplement, it is taken to help individuals with jet lag, delayed sleep-wake phase disorder, some sleep disorders in children, and anxiety before and after surgery.

Other countries have started their studies on melatonin as a supplementary treatment with researches showing it can protect against acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome brought by COVID-19.

In his Lifestyle column (“High-dose melatonin, 3 other drugs seen as effective against COVID-19”; April 14), Castillo said melatonin was among the four drugs they were using as treatment for COVID-19 patients in Manila Doctors Hospital, along with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and tocilizumab.

Hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin was for dealing with the virus directly, while tocilizumab and high-dose melatonin were for “[protecting] all the organs of the body especially the lungs from the lethal effects of COVID-19.”

Manila Doctors Hospital was the first hospital to try high-dose melatonin (36 mg to 72 mg per day in four divided doses) for high-risk COVID-19 patients.

Castillo said the COVID-19 patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome all survived after their treatment with melatonin.

In a study by Rui Zhang et al. (“COVID-19: Melatonin as a potential adjuvant treatment”) published in March in Life Sciences journal, the doctors said high-dose melatonin helped in the recovery of critical care patients “by reducing vessel permeability, anxiety, sedation use, and improving sleeping quality.”

“There is significant data showing that melatonin limits virus-related diseases and would also likely be beneficial in COVID-19 patients,” it added.

The DOST is also funding the clinical trials for the antiviral properties of virgin coconut oil.

To date, there is still no cure or vaccine for COVID-19 approved by the World Health Organization, but a number of treatments are being developed and tested by different countries all over the world.

In May, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases approved recommendations from the DOST to let the country participate in clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines being developed by Adimmune Corp. and Academia Sinica, both based in Taiwan; and the Chinese Academy of Sciences-Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, and SinoPharm-Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and Beijing Institute, both based in China.