Melatonin-analog, β-methyl-6-chloromelatonin, supplementation in spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition. Melatonin supplementation has been shown to lessen SCI, but its use has been limited by its side effect profile. In this work, rats underwent a moderate-to-severe contussional SCI with either placebo or β-methyl-6-chloromelatonin, 10 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg supplementation. The 10 mg/kg supplementation demonstrated benefit; the 100 mg/kg dosage was limited by toxicity. This is the first work to assess a melatonin analog in SCI.