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reactiveemotions
Starting Member
17 Posts |
 Posted - 08/06/2005 : 15:49:45
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1: Psychol Med. 2005 Jul;35(7):939-44. Links
Chronotherapeutics (light and wake therapy) in affective disorders.
Wirz-Justice A, Benedetti F, Berger M, Lam RW, Martiny K, Terman M, Wu JC.
The Committee on Chronotherapeutics, delegated by the International Society for Affective Disorders (ISAD), makes the following recommendations after reviewing the evidence as of November 2004. (1) Wake therapy is the most rapid antidepressant available today: approximately 60% of patients, independent of diagnostic subtype, respond with marked improvement within hours. Treatment can be a single or repeated sleep deprivation, total (all night) or partial (second half of the night). Relapse can be prevented by daily light therapy, concomitant administration of SSRIs, lithium (for bipolar patients), or a short phase advance of sleep over 3 days following a single night of wake therapy. Combinations of these interventions show great promise. (2) Light therapy is effective for major depression--not only for the seasonal subtype. As an adjuvant to conventional antidepressants in unipolar patients, or lithium in bipolar patients, morning light hastens and potentiates the antidepressant response. Light therapy shows benefit even for patients with chronic depression of 2 years or more, outperforming their weak response to drugs. This method provides a viable alternative for patients who refuse, resist or cannot tolerate medication, or for whom drugs may be contraindicated, as in antepartum depression. (3) Given the urgent need for new strategies to treat patients with residual depressive symptoms, clinical trials of wake therapy and/or adjuvant light therapy, coupled with follow-up studies of long-term recurrence, are a high priority.
Publication Types:
* Editorial
PMID: 16045060 [PubMed - in process]  |
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| Cirkid
Starting Member
48 Posts
Gratitude: 30
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Posted - 10/30/2008 : 06:03:06
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Hi there,
Condition: Bipolar II
Current Treatments: Lithium, UV light therapy, exercise, low stress, connecting with love in my life :)
I have been using light therapy ( UV lights on a timer ) on and off for about a year now. In my qualitative opinion , I do notice that I don't seem to lose energy or get as effected by Vancouver's very cloudy and rainy climate. If anything it ruled out Seasonal Affective Dissorder. (depression due to lack of sunlight)
For my condition UV light treatment alone was not enough to balance my moods and keep me out of depression. I can say for sure that the UV lights affect my sleep cycle. If the UV lights are on it is almost impossible to get to sleep. It is important to set the lights to turn off a couple hours before bed. They also help with waking up , just set the timer in your room to go off 30 minutes before you wanna get up.
in my opinion
1.) this is a good therapy for general health, sleep disorders, Seasonal Affective Disorder.
2.)a good augmentation to other therapies and medications for more severe disorders.  |
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Chronotherapeutics (light and wake therapy)
