Tested light therapy for nonseasonal depression

Light therapy may improve symptoms of non-seasonal depression, according to a study published in the January issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

Ritsaert Lieverse the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam and his colleagues conducted the study with 90 people aged 60 and older treated for major depression.

Light Therapy

They received treatment light therapy (exposure to light having an intensity of 7500 lux) or a placebo (light intensity insufficient) lasting 60 minutes each morning for 3 weeks.

Benefits for mood and sleep were associated with faster activation after awakening, an increased release of melatonin at night and reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This supports the hypothesis that antidepressant effects may be due in part to the improved functioning of the circadian system (biological clock). Light therapy may provide an alternative option to the researchers say people who refuse or can not tolerate antidepressant medications.

In the elderly, they say, the light exposure tends to decline because they tend to stay longer inside and because the photoreceptor decline, which may lead to insufficient stimulation of the structures related circadian rhythm. Moreover, the side effect profile of antidepressants is also less favorable in the elderly, they note.

The effects on depression were measured using the Hamilton scale (do the test). The improvement was 7% higher than the placebo group after 3 weeks of treatment and 21% three weeks later.

Studies with a larger number of participants and a longer term should be conducted to confirm these results, the researchers recommend.