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

May 23, 2007Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society

Effects of bright light therapy in Parkinson's disease: a preliminary study

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Abstract

Bright light therapy (BLT) at 7,500 lux improved motor symptoms and depression in Parkinson's disease patients.

BLT was administered for 15 days, 30 minutes daily.
Improvements were observed in tremor and various aspects of the Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS I, II, and IV).
Significant reductions in depression scores were noted in the active treatment group compared to placebo.
The treatment was well tolerated by participants.
Further studies are needed in more advanced patient populations with longer treatment durations.

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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.

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

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