SACRAMENTO, Apr 16, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. researchers suggest melatonin
may help children with autism or Fragile X syndrome sleep.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, linked melatonin
treatment to lengthening mean sleep duration by a mean of 21 minutes, decreasing
sleep-onset latency -- the length of time it takes to fall asleep -- by 28
minutes and shortening sleep onset by 42 minutes.
Study senior author Beth Goodlin-Jones of the M.I.N.D Institute at the
University of California Davis Health System in Sacramento suggests treatment
with over-the-counter melatonin supplements might help alleviate some of the
stress that parents of special-needs children experience.
Sleep problems, she says, are reported in up to 89 percent of children with
autism and 77 percent of children with Fragile X syndrome -- the most common
form of inherited mental impairment ranging from learning problems to mental
retardation.
"Sleep onset problems at the beginning of the night are very troublesome for
children and their families," Goodlin-Jones says in a statement. "Sometimes
children may take one to two hours to fall asleep and often they disrupt the
household during this time."
The study included information from 12 children who met diagnostic criteria for
autism or Fragile X syndrome or both between the ages of 2- 15. Sleep quality
and quantity were measured both objectively and subjectively. Participants were
given two weeks' supply of either melatonin or a placebo.
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