Melatonin as a prototype of chronobiotic-cytoprotective drugs

Abstract

Melatonin provides an innovative neuroprotective strategy by combining its effects on sleep with its cytoprotective properties. Melatonin protects against several mechanisms of neuronal death, including oxyradical-mediated damage and apoptosis implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of neurodegenerative diseases like AD, Parkinsonism, Huntington’s chorea and neurological conditions like stroke, epilepsy and brain trauma.