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Now a customer
comes into your pharmacy with a sleep disorder, or jet lag.
Who would recommend their doctor to prescribe Melatonin?
Melatonin
has been available for a long time as an over the counter product
to treat conditions such as jet lag. The actual strength of Melatonin
within these tablets are dramatic dilutions of the pure hormone.
The packet may state that the tablets are 2mg, but when the fine
print has been read, you realise how weak they actually are.
Still, these products can be effective for some people
Melatonin
is also available on prescription, and can be made to ANY strength
by a compound chemist. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone,
produced by the pineal gland.
It controls growth and development throughout our lives, affecting
the function of many other glands.
Melatonin
can be prescribed for sleep disorders, jet lag, and possibly anti-ageing.
Studies have shown that Melatonin levels decline from about age
forty-five, falling to half the level produced when at age twenty.
A certain strength can put our internal clock back in order.
Some patients may require a slow release preparation that will
maintain a certain level of Melatonin in their body all day.
Others require a boost in the morning as a wake up call (although
doses early in the morning have been shown to be most effective
but extremely inconvenient for patients), or even at night to
help them get off to sleep.
Other effects
of Melatonin include that it is an antioxidant, with twice the
power of Vitamin E.
Its free radical properties suggest it could be helpful in repairing
damaged DNA and proteins within our muscles, organs and even hair.
More work needs to be done in this field, but Melatonin could
have benefits for a range of conditions such as heart disease,
cataracts, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.
It may even be useful for wrinkled skin or greying hair.
Melatonin
with its great potential is a great example of how pharmacists
can provide patients with the exact strength of medication required
to improve their quality of life.
I believe that compounding is something that will grow more and
more within Australia.
Trends in the USA show a massive increase in its use, now with
a significant percentage of all their prescriptions being compounded
items.
Although
this is extremely exciting, the skills of a pharmacist must be
used very carefully.
Pharmacists must be very careful on the ingredients used, strengths
added, cleanliness, and compatibility of ingredients.
Different suppliers of products can provide a range of purities,
synthesised from multiple sources.
Melatonin
can be produced in many ways, and there are different pharmacy
grades of Melatonin.
These are natural, animal, or bovine grade, which contains extracts
of the pineal gland (from actual animal tissue).
It can therefore have viruses, or antibodies that could produce
an antibody response.
This form is not recommended for human use, and is something that
I would not feel comfortable giving to the public.
There is also the synthetic or pharmacy grade Melatonin.
This form is molecularly identical to the Melatonin produced in
our bodies, so it is a lot safer to use.
More and
more doctors are becoming aware of alternate medicine available
for patients, which is exciting for pharmacists.
It is our duty to be in tune with advancements in treatments,
in order to provide the best therapy for patients.
Caution must be taken on the effectiveness and safety of these
products, and the sources of the ingredients used.
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