Health
Melatonin: Is This Natural Hormone One of the Keys to Slowing Brain Aging?
Melatonin is best known as a sleep hormone because it controls circadian cycles. But melatonin also has antioxidant properties, and may have an important anti-aging role.
A recent study looked at artificially aged mice to determine the effects of melatonin on the aging process. Such mice are used as a model to study the underlying mechanisms of aging because they develop markers also found in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
According to the study, reported by Green Med Info:
“… [T]melatonin supplementation…can reduce oxidative stress and the neurodegenerative calpain/Cdk5 pathway…and…marks of brain aging and neurodegeneration…shows protective effects Neuroprotective and anti-aging effects of melatonin. “