Exploring melatonin's therapeutic potential in neurological disorders: a review of current evidence

Neurodegenerative diseases constitute a group of persistent and irreversible conditions marked by gradual degeneration and impairment of the central and/or peripheral nervous systems. Elevated oxidative stress, impaired sleep, aging, altered immune and disturbed mitochondrial functions, etc., are recognized as shared pathophysiological occurrences linked to various neuro-disorders. Melatonin, as a chronobiotic molecule, plays a role in stabilizing body cycles and acts as a synchronizer. It is synthesized by various organs and tissues, including the pineal gland, skin, gastrointestinal tract, lymphocytes, and others, in response to darkness. Due to its widely recognized antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, along with its neuroprotective effects, melatonin can offer significant benefits in the treatment of neurological disorders. Melatonin and its analogues bind to the MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptors and are used to treat a variety of CNS illnesses, including insomnia, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease etc. In current review article, an attempt has been made to explore the potential of melatonin in various neurological conditions and authors aim to explain the mechanism of melatonin implicated in all of the aforementioned illnesses.