Bright Light Therapy for Depressed Geriatric Inpatients

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION

Clinical Phase

PHASE2

Total Enrollment

20 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-11-14

Study Completion Date

2026-04-30

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Bright light therapy has been shown to be effective for the treatment of both seasonal and non-seasonal unipolar depression as well as bipolar depression, primarily in outpatients under the age of 60. There is a dearth of studies exploring the efficacy of this treatment modality among elderly depressed inpatients, which is our study population.

Related Clinical Trials

Explore similar clinical trials based on study characteristics and research focus.

Adjunctive Bright Light Therapy for Patients With Depression

NCT04633707

Depressive Disorder Light Therapy

UNKNOWN NA

Light Therapy for Bipolar Disorder. Efficacy of Light Therapy for Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

NCT00852592

Bipolar Disorder Major Depressive Episode

COMPLETED PHASE3

Light Therapy for Elderly Depression

NCT00332670

Major Depressive Disorder

TERMINATED PHASE2/PHASE3

Feasibility of Home-Based Intermittent 60Hz Light Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

NCT07111390

Depression MDD Major Depressive Disorder +1 more

RECRUITING NA

Efficacy and Safety of Light Therapy in the Treatment of Non-seasonal Depressive Disorder in Chinese Population

NCT05499117

Major Depressive Disorder

UNKNOWN NA

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Investigators are studying the ability of light therapy to reduce depressive symptoms in elderly patients who are hospitalized with unipolar depression (depression that is not due to bipolar disorder). Participants will receive either active light treatment or inactive treatment (also known as placebo).

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Unipolar Depression

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Bright light therapy

Participants in the intervention group will receive bright light therapy (BLT) consisting of 10,000 lux of bright white light administered for 30 minutes each morning, ideally within 30 minutes of awakening. Participants in both arms will continue to receive other treatment as usual (group therapy and medication management) as deemed appropriate by their treating clinicians.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Bright light therapy

Intervention Type DEVICE

the Verilux® HappyLight® Lumi Plus light therapy box, which delivers UV-free, full-spectrum LED light at an intensity of 10,000 lux

Dim Red light

Participants in the control group will receive a placebo condition using an identical light box fitted with a translucent red screen to emit dim red light at an intensity of less than 2,500 lux, which lacks efficacy for depression treatment based on prior research. Participants in both arms will continue to receive other treatment as usual (group therapy and medication management) as deemed appropriate by their treating clinicians.

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

dim red light

Intervention Type DEVICE

The control group will use the same light box device, configured to emit dim red light. This will be achieved by setting the box to its lowest brightness setting and overlaying a translucent red filter over the light display. This setup is intended to maintain the appearance and experience of light exposure while minimizing any therapeutic effect.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

dim red light

The control group will use the same light box device, configured to emit dim red light. This will be achieved by setting the box to its lowest brightness setting and overlaying a translucent red filter over the light display. This setup is intended to maintain the appearance and experience of light exposure while minimizing any therapeutic effect.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Bright light therapy

the Verilux® HappyLight® Lumi Plus light therapy box, which delivers UV-free, full-spectrum LED light at an intensity of 10,000 lux

Intervention Type DEVICE

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

light therapy

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* A current episode of non-psychotic unipolar depression as the primary reason for psychiatric hospitalization
* Currently hospitalized on the MUSC Senior Care Unit
* Age 60 years or older
* HAMD-17 ≥8

Exclusion Criteria

* Any prior use of bright light therapy
* Primary indication for hospitalization is for a disorder other than major depressive disorder (determined by patient's treatment team)
* Photosensitive medical conditions or current use of photosensitizing medications - if patients have been advised by a treating clinician at any point to avoid sunlight because of their current medication regimen or medical condition, they will be considered to have a photosensitive medical condition and will be excluded from this study.
* Treatment with ECT; if a patient's condition deteriorates during study participation such that the treatment team feels ECT would be in their best interest, they will be withdrawn from study participation. For logistical and transport purposes, the study team feels that exclusion of patients receiving ECT will be necessarily. Additionally, these patients would likely be excluded from a future larger RCT given that ECT would likely interfere with signal of BLT efficacy.
* Uncontrolled headaches or any migraines within the last month
* Major neurocognitive disorder
* Severe intellectual disability
* Inability to consent for the study
* Active psychosis
* Inmates

Minimum Eligible Age

60 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No