Patients with intractable epilepsy have low melatonin, which increases following seizures

Melatonin, which is used to treat sleep disorders, has anticonvulsant prope rties. The authors measured salivary melatonin and cortisol, at baseline an d following seizures, in patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy a nd controls, Melatonin was reduced in patients with epilepsy at baseline co mpared with controls, and increased threefold following seizures. Cortisol also increased following seizures. Patients with intractable epilepsy have low baseline melatonin levels that increase dramatically following seizures .