Bright light therapy in Parkinson's disease: a pilot study.
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.
Paus
Sebastian
S
Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Schmitz-Hübsch
Tanja
T
Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Wüllner
Ullrich
U
Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Vogel
Antje
A
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Klockgether
Thomas
T
Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Abele
Michael
M
Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D010789:Phototherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome