Melatonin’s Potential Against Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease affecting the brain and the leading cause of dementia. It starts with mild cognitive impairment and over time deteriorates into an ever-worsening loss of memory and other brain functions. Melatonin, well known for regulating the body’s sleep-wake cycles, is a naturally occurring hormone and a robust antioxidant. Accumulating evidence suggests that melatonin shows promising neuroprotective activity against Alzheimer’s disease. What is Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s is not a single disease but results from a wide range of different biochemical processes that cause the loss of brain cells and synapses over time, resulting in cognitive decline and dementia. The brain of an Alzheimer’s patient displays tangles (tau protein tangles) and plaques (amyloid-beta plaque) that affect