Melatonin Signed Off in UK for Children’s ADHD Treatment

Melatonin oral solution from Colonis Pharma has been signed off by the UK MHRS (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) to help treat sleep-onset insomnia for youths with ADHD.

The treatment is intended for young people 6 to 17 years old, who felt that existing sleep hygiene procedures were insufficient. Melatonin has never previously been authorised to be used in these circumstances; it is currently only available by prescription and is subject to tight regulation in the UK.

Across the globe, melatonin is used to enhance sleep by regulating daily behavioural, mental and physical rhythms inside the body.
We are currently in ADHD Awareness Month; therefore it is important to recognise that around 5% of kids globally have ADHD, and these kids are more likely to suffer from sleep-onset insomnia.

In nations like the UK and New Zealand, melatonin has continued to only be available by prescription; the UK administration categorised it as a medication, meaning that selling the product over the counter is strictly prohibited.

The suggested dosage for children is 1-2 mg of Colonis’ melatonin in preparation for bedtime.

Frequently, an alternative melatonin product intended for adults by Aspen Pharmacare Australia, called Circadin, is used to treat the same sleep problems in children.

The UK EMC (Electronic Medicines Compendium) said: “safety and efficacy of Circadin in children aged 0 to 18 years has not yet been established.”
But American Researcher Russel J. Reiter claimed that melatonin is found as a natural substance, therefor the UK’s decision to have it as a prescription- only drug is the same as “making kidney pie prescription-only.” He continued to say that “most children have high levels of melatonin in their blood at night” anyway.

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