Melatonin treatment of non-epileptic myoclonus in children.

Dev Med Child Neurol

Centre for Complementary Medicine Research, BC Research Institute for Children's and Women's Health, BC's Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.

Published: April 1999

AI Article Synopsis

  • Oral melatonin (MLT) has been effectively used by a Vancouver research group since 1991 to treat pediatric sleep disorders, primarily in children with multiple disabilities and seizures.
  • In three specific cases, children with delayed sleep onset due to various types of myoclonus found that low doses of MLT (3 to 5 mg) eliminated their myoclonus and improved their sleep without any adverse effects.
  • The results suggest that MLT may be a potential treatment for certain myoclonus types that resist standard anticonvulsant medications, indicating the need for further research to understand its mechanism of action.

Article Abstract

Oral melatonin (MLT) has been used by our Vancouver research group in the treatment of paediatric sleep disorders since 1991; slightly over 200 children, mainly with multiple disabilities, who frequently had seizures, have been treated. Three children with markedly delayed sleep onset due to recurring myoclonus were also referred for MLT treatment: two had non-epileptic, and one had epileptic and non-epileptic myoclonus. Low doses of oral MLT (3 to 5 mg) unexpectedly abolished their myoclonus and allowed them to sleep. There were no adverse effects. It appears that certain types of myoclonus, which might be resistant to conventional anticonvulsant medications, may respond to MLT but the mechanism of action is unclear. Further research on this novel treatment is urgently needed.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0012162299000535DOI Listing

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