Study about the relationship between quality of life and clinical and biological characteristic of ilness in patients affected by Mood Disorder

Optimized light therapy for non-seasonal major depressive disorder: effects of timing and season

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12610000918022

Enrollment

100

Registered

2010-10-28

Start date

2007-05-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Light therapy (LT) was first developed and has been established as the treatment of choice for winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The use of light therapy has then expanded beyond SAD, with recent studies providing evidence for the efficacy of bright LT in non-seasonal major depression. Light Therapy (LT) when combined with standard antidepressant treatment for unipolar depression hastens recovery, with benefits that can be perceived during the first week of treatment. Several questions remain unanswered in the field: which is the best schedule of light therapy administration in non SAD patients? Given that the photoperiod continuously change over the seasons, with a phase-delay of natural morning light exposure during autumn and winter and a phase-advance during spring and summer, do the season of treatment and season of recurrence influence the efficacy? Is the antidepressant response to combined LT paralleled by changes in sleep and activity-rest rhythms?The aim of the present study is to provide a preliminary answer to these questions in a homogeneous sample of patients affected by non-seasonal Major Depression and treated with combined antidepressant LT and venlafaxine.

Interventions

Patients treated with oral tablets of venlafaxine up to 225mg(After a 3 days washout period, venlafaxine was up-titrated to a dose of 150 mg/day within the first week. The drug dose was increased till 225 mg/day within the second week and it was then kept unchanged) and bright lihgt therapy (exposure daily for 30 minutes to a 10000 lux bright light) for three weeks: we will study the difference in response according to light therapy timing and season of recurrence and treatment

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

The sample includes inpatients affected by Major Depressive Disorder, current depressive episode without psychotic features (DSM-IV criteria; SCID interview).

Exclusion criteria

Additional diagnoses on axis I; mental retardation on axis II; pregnancy, major medical and neurological disorders, treatment with slow release neuroleptic drugs in the last month before admission.

Outcome results