Melatonin Supplementation in Children: A Narrative Review of Indications, Safety, and Potential Long-Term Effects

Insomnia and sleep disturbance are common in children and adolescents. Parents and medical providers often wonder whether melatonin supplementation is a safe choice in these age groups. Small-scale studies suggest that long-term melatonin supplementation safely and effectively treats sleep onset insomnia in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Documented side effects have been minimal and relatively benign. This paper is a brief review of the clinical indications, side effects, and potential long-term implications of supplementing melatonin in children.

Parkinson’s Disease: Possible Mechanisms for Nutritional Approaches

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is among the most common chronic neurodegenerative conditions, affecting 1% of those over 60 years of age, and involves motor and non-motor impairments. Alterations in normal physiology may become apparent years – in some cases, 10–20 years – before established diagnostic criteria are met. Thus, better clinical outcomes may result when practitioners utilize nutritional and supplement interventions that support reductions in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration as early as possible. PD is a devastating, progressive neurodegenerative condition that has both hereditary and environmental components to its pathogenesis, and early identification of risk factors and onset is critical. The purpose of this review is to highlight various nutrition and supplement interventions that may positively affect disease onset and progression, and that warrant further research.

Classroom-Based Mindfulness Training Reduces Anxiety in Adolescents: Acceptability and Effectiveness of a Cluster-Randomized Pilot Study

Objective: Many high school students experience a high degree of anxiety and perceived stress. This study examined whether a classroom-based mindfulness program or a wellness program were acceptable and effective as anxiety and stress reduction interventions based on students’ self-reports. Design, setting, and participants: Thirteen health education classes (n=285 students, aged 14–16 years) were randomized by classroom to one of three conditions: mindfulness, wellness, or usual health class only (passive control/waitlist), for 8 weeks. Outcomes: Pre- and post-intervention scores compared self-reported measures of depression, anxiety and stress. Results: Complete data were available from nine classes (n=202 students). Post-intervention anxiety scores were reduced in students who received the mindfulness intervention compared to those who received only their usual health class (β=−0.07, SE=0.03, P≤0.001; 95% CI=−0.12, −0.02). No significant between group differences were found for depression or stress (P>0.4). Students’ satisfaction with the mindfulness intervention they received withstood baseline credibility and expectancy effects: r=0.21, n=67, P=0.17 for credibility; r=−0.001, n=67, P=0.99 for expectancy. However, students’ satisfaction with the wellness intervention they received was positively correlated with their pre-intervention expectations, r=0.42, n=47, P<0.001. Fifty-two percent of the 68 students assigned to mindfulness (n=35) used the iPad app for mindfulness home practice at least once; of those, 10% used it 10 or more times. Conclusion: Eight weeks of classroom-based mindfulness, with limited home practice, reduced self-reported anxiety compared to usual health class, and withstood baseline expectancy effects in this group of high school students, a majority who come from high income families. Clinical implications: School- or community-based mindfulness may be an appropriate recommendation for adolescents who experience anxiety.

Menstrual Cycle Fluctuations of Progesterone and the Effect on Sleep Regulation

Women of reproductive age experience higher rates of sleep disturbance than their male counterparts, leading to lack of restorative sleep and increasing risk for chronic disease. The objective of this review is to overlay the menstrual cycle with sleep regulation to develop an evidence-based theoretical model that directs clinical interventions for improved sleep in affected women. Utilizing the basic mechanisms for sleep and the menstrual cycle, in addition to evidence for sleep and hormonal dysregulation, hormonal fluctuations are mapped to variations in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), melatonin, and cortisol levels. Effective interventions that may be included in individualized treatment plans – varying based on the scope of practice for each practitioner – are presented, along with the impetus for future research to explore the relationship between the menstrual cycle and sleep regulation.

Quantum Functional Energy Medicine: The Next Frontier of Restorative Medicine

Living systems may be thought of as complex, nonlinear, dynamic, self-organizing energetic and field phenomena with negative entropy. At the highest level of organization, each life form may possess an innate biologic field, or biofield. This energy field maintains the integrity of the whole organism; regulates its physiologic and biochemical responses; and is integral to development, healing, and regeneration. Energy medicine refers to several systems that work with energy fields of the body to help restore health. Many energy-related therapies challenge the current biomedical paradigm because they cannot be explained by conventional biochemical or physiological mechanisms. Quantum physics is a better paradigm with which to understand these therapies.

We Are What We Think: Downregulating the Chronic Stress Response with Technology-Assisted Mindfulness Meditation

For hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution, high alertness was the key to survival in a predatory and dangerous world. Those whose stress responses remained active survived to pass along their genes, thus setting up modern humans with a mechanism primed to respond to threats to survival. This mechanism in the modern world can become maladaptive when prolonged exposure to chronic stressors keeps it on high alert, even in the absence of any threats. This article explores the potential of technology-assisted mindfulness meditation to support a healthy stress response within the demanding context of modern lifestyles.

Fecal Transplant: How an Ancient Therapy Is Finding a New Use in Today’s Antibiotic-Resistant Era

Fecal transplant refers to any method of delivery of healthy human stool to the colon of a recipient. This therapy is now gaining standard-of-care designation in the United States, Australia, and many parts of Europe for treating resistant Clostridium difficile infection). This literature review describes fecal transplant protocols. It highlights the variety of techniques used to screen stool donors; prepare and deliver treatment; and how, despite these variations, safety and efficacy remain high. It highlights the various ways to best mitigate safety while also recommending the direction in which clinical and research communities can move to continue to provide access to fecal microbiota transplant in a cost-effective manner.

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO): An Interview with Preet Khangura, ND

Liz Sutherland, ND, Editor-in-Chief of the Journalof Restorative Medicine, recently spoke with PreetKhangura, ND, who practices in Victoria, BC,Canada. Dr. Khangura is an expert in the diagnosisand treatment of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth(SIBO). He has developed treatment and preventionprotocols for this condition, and offers consultationsand educational seminars on the topic to healthcareproviders.