Bright light therapy in Parkinson's disease: A pilot study

Abstract

Several observations suggest a beneficial effect of melatonin antagonism for Parkinson's disease (PD). Although bright light therapy (BLT) suppresses melatonin release and is an established treatment for depression and sleep disturbances, it has not been evaluated in PD. We examined effects of BLT on motor symptoms, depression, and sleep in PD in a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study in 36 PD patients, using Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) I-IV, Beck's Depression Inventory, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. All patients received BLT for 15 days in the morning, 30 min daily. Illuminance was 7.500 lux in the active treatment group and 950 lux in the placebo group. Although group differences were small, BLT led to significant improvement of tremor, UPDRS I, II, and IV, and depression in the active treatment group but not in the placebo group. It was very well tolerated. Follow up studies in more advanced patient populations employing longer treatment durations are warranted.

CBT for the treatment of depression in Parkinson’s disease: a promising nonpharmacological approach

“…In addition, a randomized, controlled trial of Qigong exercise showed decreases in depression scores in both the control and treatment group, although those in the treatment group did experience a greater improvement in motor symptoms [48]. Two exploratory studies of bright light therapy for dPD, one of which was a randomized placebo-controlled double blind study, have demonstrated moderate improvement in depressive symptoms [49,50], but further research is necessary to replicate these findings.…”

A New Perspective for Parkinson’s Disease: Circadian Rhythm

“…Paus et al conducted a pilot study to evaluate changes of clinical symptoms in 36 PD patients receiving half an hour bright light therapy (BLT) in the morning for 15 days with the illuminance of 7500 lx. Different from the placebo group, BLT resulted in a marked improvement in Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part I, II and IV scores and depression [108]. In another study, Willis et al also arranged 12 PD patients to BLT once daily at an intensity of 1000 to 1500 lx, before the usual time of sleep onset for 1 h. Two weeks later, amelioration was observed in bradykinesia and rigidity in most patients, as well as elevated mood, improved sleep and reduced demands for drugs [109].…”

Heterogeneity of excessive daytime sleepiness in Parkinson’s disease

“…Показана ее эффективность в лечении инсом-нии и депрессии [131,132]. Исследования фототера-пии у пациентов с БП немногочисленны и прово-дились на небольших группах больных [133][134][135]. В большинстве исследований применение фототе-рапии сопровождалось уменьшением проявлений инсомнии и депрессии при БП.…”

“…В большинстве исследований применение фототе-рапии сопровождалось уменьшением проявлений инсомнии и депрессии при БП. В сравнении с кон-тролем выявлено статистически значимое снижение значений по частям I, II и IV шкалы UPDRS, но до-казательств уменьшения ДС не получено [133].…”