Efficacy of melatonin in animal models of intracerebral hemorrhage: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Zeng, L. and Zhu, Y. and Hu, X. and Qin, H. and Tang, J. and Hu, Z. and Chen, C.

Aging (Albany NY) (2021) 13: 3010–3030

DOI: 10.18632/aging.202457

Abstract

Melatonin is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that is showing promising results in acute brain injury. The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the pre-clinical evidence on the effectiveness of melatonin in improving outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We searched mainstream databases from the inception to the end of June 2020. Outcomes were measured by neurobehavioral scores or brain water content. Meta-analyses were performed with Stata 12.0 and Review Manager 5.3. Finally, 8 articles published from 2008 to 2019 met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis of pre-clinical data revealed an overall positive effect on neurobehavioral outcome with a standardized mean difference (SMD) of -0.81 (95% CI: -1.47, -0.15; p = 0.016) with significant heterogeneity (Q = 41.49, I(2) = 68.7%; p = 0.000). Further subgroup analysis were performed from methodological differences, especially dose and timing of treatments. Furthermore, melatonin reduced cerebral edema by an SMD of -0.78 (95% CI: -1.23, -0.34; p = 0.001) with low heterogeneity. In conclusion, melatonin treatment significantly improves both behavioral and pathological outcomes in animal models of ICH. In addition, the results should be interpreted in light of the limitations in experimental design and methodological quality of the studies included in the meta-analysis.

Citation

Zeng, L., Zhu, Y., Hu, X., Qin, H., Tang, J., Hu, Z., & Chen, C. (2021). Efficacy of melatonin in animal models of intracerebral hemorrhage: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Aging (Albany NY), 13(2), 3010–3030. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.202457 Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Treatment Outcome, Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use, *animal models, *systematic review, Neuroprotective Agents/*therapeutic use, *meta-analysis, *melatonin, *ich, Antioxidants/therapeutic use, Cerebral Hemorrhage/*drug therapy, Melatonin/*therapeutic use

Keywords

• Animals
• Disease Models
• Animal
• Treatment Outcome
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use
• *animal models
• *systematic review
• Neuroprotective Agents/*therapeutic use
• *meta-analysis
• *melatonin
• *ich
• Antioxidants/therapeutic use
• Cerebral Hemorrhage/*drug therapy
• Melatonin/*therapeutic use