Comments on: Does an elevated melatonin level in morning urine really reduce risk for prostate cancer? http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/2009/05/27/elevated-melatonin/ Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:28:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Sitemaster http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/2009/05/27/elevated-melatonin/#comment-5185 Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:26:57 +0000 http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/?p=5848#comment-5185 Thanks for the additional clarifications. For clarity, let me just say that I would want a LOT more information before suggesting that we had convincing evidence of the effectiveness (or safety) of melatonin use to prevent any form of cancer.

]]> By: delayed2sleep http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/2009/05/27/elevated-melatonin/#comment-5181 Sat, 20 Jun 2009 05:05:18 +0000 http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/?p=5848#comment-5181 Was going to say that “melatonin level in morning urine” is an impossibility. But I see that you didn’t invent that; you’ve linked to a paper entitled “Urinary Melatonin Levels and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk in the Nurses’ Health Study Cohort”. Gosh. Anyway, there isn’t melatonin in urine, but melatonin levels can be tracked by measuring, in urine, the major metabolite of melatonin through the morning/day. They explain that in their text, but I really don’t like the implication in their title or yours.

Yes, it is short wavelength (about 480 nm) light to the eyes which banishes melatonin. And blue-blocking (amber) goggles allow one to see in the evening without stopping melatonin production. But it’s not a good idea to convince the system that nights are many hours longer than they really are; that leads to depression. Allowing the secretion of melatonin as early in the evening as it “wants” may be a good idea, but plenty of light on awakening is needed for balance.

For the record, what I know about melatonin is in relation to my interest is in the field of circadian rhythms, not cancer prevention.

Note, too, that melatonin is available over-the-counter in the USA and Canada, but is prescription-only or unavailable in other countries.

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