Introduction
Nearly one-third of all fatalities worldwide are caused by cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, and as people age, their likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease increases considerably. The phenomenon of natural deterioration in the human body's physical structure and physiological capabilities is known as aging. It involves the immune-regulatory system and the progressive degeneration of the neurological and endocrine systems, which causes an imbalance in the body's homeostasis. The theory of free radical-induced aging, which holds that the pineal gland and the melatonin it secretes play a significant part in aging, is one of the various mechanisms of aging. Patients with hypertension were found to have decreased serum melatonin levels. Exogenous melatonin therapy lowers blood pressure in both normotensive and hypertensive patients.
How Does Melatonin Affect Aging?
The pineal gland is a versatile organ that has a tight relationship to the aging process and is often identified as the cause of aging. The pineal gland's morphology and functioning are highly correlated with age. Age causes the glands to eventually get calcified and shrink in size. This will therefore cause a disruption in the biological clock and a decrease in the synthesis and secretion of melatonin. As a result, the gland's internal regulating ability and coordination capacity decrease, demonstrating the slow degenerative changes in the gland that are characterized by age. Consequently, the pineal gland is crucial to the aging process.
What Are the Physiological Function and Mechanisms of Melatonin?
A powerful free radical scavenger that is present throughout the body is melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxy tryptamine), which is primarily released by the pineal gland in mammals. It has a significant role in controlling redox activity in the human body. Light has the most pronounced influence on the circadian cycle of melatonin secretion. It may have an impact on the pineal gland to produce melatonin. The rhythm of melatonin secretion is influenced by the pineal gland, and exposure to light at night can rapidly suppress melatonin production. Following synthesis, melatonin diffuses throughout capillary blood and cerebrospinal fluid rather than being retained in the pineal gland. Melatonin levels are higher in the brain than in any other body tissue because it is simple to pass through all biofilms.
In practice, the level of melatonin from the pineal recess in the third ventricle cerebrospinal fluid is 5 to 10 times higher than that in the blood at the same time. The body uses melatonin for a variety of biological functions, including controlling the rhythm of the biological cycle, regulating sleep, immunity, and blood pressure, modifying human mood and behavior, shielding the retina from damage, removing oxygen free radicals, preventing the growth of tumors, and more. Melatonin secretion declines steadily with aging and sharply around age fifty. It is suggested that exogenous melatonin supplementation is used to maintain healthy melatonin levels in the body and can delay the onset of aging. Melatonin, by interacting with these receptors and correcting the circadian clock, antioxidation, immune boosting, antistress, and neuroendocrine modulation contributes significantly to the prevention of aging.
How Does Melatonin Influence Age‐Related Cardiovascular Diseases?
In addition to its evident anti-inflammatory characteristics, melatonin may protect the cardiovascular system through its indirect antioxidant activity and free radical scavenging action. It controls blood pressure and significantly reduces atherosclerosis. The heart might contain the fundamental makeup of synthetic melatonin. Numerous studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between severe circadian rhythm-related cardiovascular events, such as ischemic heart disease, acute myocardial infarction, and cardiac X syndrome, and a drop in melatonin levels in the blood. One study discovered that the area of infarction in individuals with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after the percutaneous coronary intervention was dramatically reduced with melatonin administration.
Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction may produce endogenous soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 due to melatonin alterations in the circadian cycle, which may affect light or dark variation. Interestingly, after a 20 to 70 percent heart transplant, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 was rarely produced in healthy coronary arteries but was present in the coronary arteries of patients with fibrous atherosclerotic lesions. Adhesion molecules are also increased in unstable angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction, most likely due to endothelial cell and platelet activation during myocardial ischemia. Melatonin can lower the adhesion molecules that prevent endothelial cells from migrating and swelling. Melatonin appears to be crucial in preserving many cardiovascular functions as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.
Two weeks of oral Melatonin therapy in the clinical trial significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Melatonin may bind to melatonin receptors in the vicinity of the artery, causing vasodilation and a reduction in arterial blood pressure. Furthermore, because melatonin functions as both an indirect diastolic factor and an antihypertensive agent via the action on the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the independent role of the receptor cannot be completely ruled out. Older adults can benefit more from it because there is not enough exogenous melatonin produced to replace self-indole amines. Additionally, by enhancing the circadian rhythm of pacemakers, melatonin may offer a fresh approach to the management of hypertension. Apart from this, melatonin can also delay the effects of ischemia-reperfusion injury and lessen the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmia and infarction. By controlling excessive lipid peroxidation and nitration stress, melatonin can prevent ventricular arrhythmias during ischemia-reperfusion.
Conclusion
Cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality rates have risen. Melatonin is involved in a variety of biological processes in order to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases. These processes include controlling the rhythm of the biological cycle, regulating sleep, immunity, and blood pressure, modifying human emotions and behaviors, guarding the retina against harm, scavenging oxygen-free radicals, and preventing tumor growth. Maintaining the body's regular physiological function is crucial. Melatonin supplements are helpful for delaying aging and lowering the incidence of cardiovascular disease in aging conditions because they are a circadian rhythm regulator of the body, an antioxidant, an anti-inflammatory agent, and a protective agent for mitochondrial function. Due to its minimal toxicity, affordability, and advantages over other antioxidants in improving oxygen and reoxygenation injury, melatonin deserves consideration as a medication that might shield the heart. To know more about the condition, consult the doctor online.
