The Effect of Melatonin Adjuvant on Cognitive Function and Melatonin Levels in Schizophrenia Patients

Christian Haryanto Junaedi 1 * , Andi Jayalangkara Tanra 1, Kristian Liaury 1, Suryani Tawali 2, Ika Yustisia 3, Erlyn Limoa 1, Saidah Syamsuddin 1, Sonny Teddy Lisal 1
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1 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, South Sulawesi Indonesia
2 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, South Sulawesi Indonesia
3 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, South Sulawesi Indonesia
* Corresponding Author
J CLIN MED KAZ, In press. https://doi.org/10.23950/jcmk/16877
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Author Contributions: Conceptualization, C. H. J., A. J. T., K. L.; methodology, C. H. J., A. J. T., K. L., S. T., I. Y., E. L., S. S., S. T. L.; validation – not applicable; formal analysis, C. H. J.; investigation, C. H. J.; resources – not applicable; data curation, C. H. J.; writing – original draft preparation, C. H. J.; writing – review and editing, A. J. T., K. L., E. L., S. S., S. T. L.; visualization – not applicable; supervision, A. J. T., K. L., E. L., S. S., S. T. L.; project administration – not applicable; funding acquisition – not applicable. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data availability statement: The corresponding author can provide the data supporting the study's conclusions upon request. Due to ethical and privacy constraints, the data are not publicly accessible.

RCT register: This study was clinically registered in the Thai Clinical Trials Registry (TCTR; https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/) and received approval with the number TCTR20250222001 (https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/show/TCTR20250222001).

ABSTRACT

Background: Schizophrenia is an important and serious mental disorder. It has been studied that serum melatonin levels were significantly decreased in schizophrenia patients.
Objective: To investigate the effect of adjuvant melatonin on cognitive function and serum melatonin levels in schizophrenia patients receiving risperidone therapy
Methods: This study used a randomized controlled double-blind design. Forty-four male schizophrenic patients were successfully enrolled and randomized into two groups: 22 treatment patients who received risperidone therapy (4-6 mg/day) and melatonin (5 mg/day) and 22 control patients who received risperidone and placebo. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment Indonesian version (MoCA-INA) scale and serum melatonin levels were measured before and after 8 weeks of therapy. Data were analyzed using chi-squared, independent samples t-test or Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlation tests.
Results: Changes in MoCA-Ina scores were significantly different between the treatment and control groups (p<0.001), particularly in the visuospatial/executive, language, memory and orientation dimensions (p<0.05). The change in melatonin levels was also significantly different between groups (p<0.05). The decrease in melatonin levels in the treatment group was about three times lower than in the control group (-4.34 pg/mL vs. -13.61 pg/mL). There was no significant correlation between melatonin levels and MoCA-Ina scores.
Conclusion: Adjuvant melatonin could improve cognitive function and slow the rate of melatonin decline in schizophrenia patients receiving risperidone.
Keywords: Cognitive function, Melatonin, Schizophrenia, Risperidone

CITATION

Junaedi CH, Tanra AJ, Liaury K, Tawali S, Yustisia I, Limoa E, et al. The Effect of Melatonin Adjuvant on Cognitive Function and Melatonin Levels in Schizophrenia Patients. J Clin Med Kaz. 2025. https://doi.org/10.23950/jcmk/16877

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