Francesca Garofoli, Valentina Franco, Patrizia Accorsi, Riccardo Albertini, Micol Angelini, Carlo Asteggiano, Salvatore Aversa, Elena Ballante, Renato Borgatti, Raffaella F Cabini, Camilla Caporali, Luisa Chiapparini, Sara Cociglio, Elisa Fazzi, Stefania Longo, Laura Malerba, Valeria Materia, Laura Mazzocchi, Cecilia Naboni, Michela Palmisani, Anna Pichiecchio, Lorenzo Pinelli, Camilla Pisoni, Lorenzo Preda, Alice Riboli, Francesco M Risso, Vittoria Rizzo, Elisa Rognone, Anna M Simoncelli, Paola Villani, Chryssoula Tzialla, Stefano Ghirardello, Simona Orcesi
Preterm infants cannot counteract excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production due to preterm birth, leading to an excess of lipid peroxidation with malondialdehyde (MDA) production, capable of contributing to brain damage. Melatonin (ME), an endogenous brain hormone, and its metabolites, act as a free radical scavenger against ROS. Unfortunately, preterms have an impaired antioxidant system, resulting in the inability to produce and release ME. This prospective, multicenter, parallel groups, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial aimed to assess: (i) the endogenous production of ME in very preterm infants (gestational age ≤ 29 + 6 WE, 28 infants in the ME and 26 in the placebo group); (ii) the exogenous hormone availability and its metabolization to the main metabolite, 6-OH-ME after 15 days of ME oral treatment; (iii) difference of MDA plasma concentration, as peroxidation marker, after treatment...
January 2024: Journal of Pineal Research