Laudon M: Facilitation of benzodiazepine discontinuation by melatonin: A new clinical approach. Arch Intern Med

used drug for the treatment of insomnia. Prolonged use of benzodiazepine therapy is not recommended. How-ever, many patients, particularly older patients, have dif-ficulties discontinuing therapy. Melatonin, a hormone that is produced at night by the pineal gland, promotes nor-mal sleep in humans and augments sleep induction by benzodiazepine therapy. Objective: To assess whether the administration of mela-tonin could facilitate the discontinuation of benzodiaz-epine therapy in patients with insomnia. Methods: Thirty-four subjects receiving benzodiaz-epine therapy were enrolled in the 2-period study. In period 1, patients received (double-blinded) melatonin (2 mg in a controlled-release formulation) or a placebo nightly for 6 weeks. They were encouraged to reduce thei