Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/cAVIeY_0knI   Those suffering from bronchial asthma can experience a severe, sometimes fatal, exacerbation of their asthma at night.  Japanese pulmonary physiologists now report that the sleep hormone melatonin may be the culprit.   The investigators found that higher doses of melatonin trigger the MT2 receptor in airway smooth muscle that causes the bronchial channels to constrict.  They also found that melatonin can reduce the therapeutic effects of the bronchodilator medications used by asthmatics to stop their attacks.   While natural levels of melatonin produced by the body seem to cause more subtle exacerbations of asthma, higher levels of this hormone taken to induce sleep and reduce jet lag could trigger life-threatening attacks.  Asthmatics beware!   https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2021/12/covid-19-vaccination-during-pregnancy-is-key-to-saving-lives-statement   #melatonin #asthma #sleep #bronchoconstriction #bronchodilators