Light Therapy News and Research

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Light Therapy is the treatment of disease with certain types of light. Light therapy can use lasers, LED, fluorescent lamps, and ultraviolet or infrared radiation. Also called phototherapy.

Balneo-phototherapy offers greater benefit not only in psoriasis, but also in atopic eczema

Atopic eczema, also called neurodermatitis, is a chronic skin condition usually associated with severe itching, which can cause massive impairment of the quality of life.

30 Nov 2018

Fewer daylight hours during late pregnancy may increase risk of postpartum depression

Women in late pregnancy during darker months of the year may have a greater risk of developing postpartum depression once their babies are born.

27 Sep 2018

Scientists study effects of phototherapy on cardiovascular system

Light therapy is used to treat sleep disorders, depression, and seasonal mental disorders. In order to study its effects on the cardiovascular system and to make phototherapy safer for patients suffering from hypertension, experts from RUDN University were carrying out experiments on rats for five months.

7 Aug 2018

Circadian rhythm discovery may lead to improved light-therapy treatments

A new study has highlighted how body clock processes within the body are influenced by night-time light.

30 Apr 2018

EMBL scientists develop new illumination method to manage neuropathic pain

Imagine that the movement of a single hair on your arm causes severe pain. For patients with neuropathic pain - a chronic illness affecting 7 to 8% of the European population, with no effective treatment - this can be a daily reality.

24 Apr 2018

French scientists develop new wearable laser that eradicates skin conditions

French scientists at ‘Texinov Medical Textiles’, have developed a knitted laser fabric that blasts the skin with light, giving treatment to inflamed skin or lesions over a 2 and a half hour appointment.

21 Feb 2018

Dermatologists use novel combination therapy to restore skin color in vitiligo patients

Building on prior research that examined the use of an arthritis medication to treat vitiligo, a team of Yale dermatologists has successfully applied a novel combination therapy -- the medication and light -- to restore skin color in patients.

31 Jan 2018

Phototherapeutic technology shows potential as anti-cancer weapon

A new anti-cancer strategy wields light as a precision weapon. Unlike traditional light therapy - which is limited to the skin and areas accessible with an endoscope - this technique can target and attack cancer cells that have spread deep inside the body, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

25 Jan 2018

Systematic bright light exposure can improve sleep in people treated for cancer

Results of a randomized controlled trial suggest that systematic bright light exposure can improve sleep for fatigued people who have been treated for cancer.

17 Jan 2018

Sunlight exposure may help lose weight

Putting on extra kilos during winters has been blamed on holiday treats and less physical activity. Now a new study shows that less exposure to be the key to putting on the weight. A sunny vacation might help lose that extra weight say researchers at University of Alberta in Canada. The study appeared in the journal Scientific Reports.

11 Jan 2018

Researchers use Quest MRI to identify earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease in mice

Alzheimer's disease wreaks emotional havoc on patients, who are robbed of their memories, their dignity, and their lives. It's financially devastating as well: care for Alzheimer's patients is predicted to top $1 trillion by about the time children born today are having children of their own.

5 Jan 2018

Researchers test orange light treatment at emergency psychiatric care

Can orange light therapy help people who have serious mental disorders? Who hear voices and see things that aren't there? Or who are thinking about committing suicide?

7 Dec 2017

Researchers develop illuminated pajamas for babies being treated for jaundice

Alone, naked, and with their eyes covered for protection: this is how newborns lie in incubators when they are being treated for jaundice. Irradiation with blue light in an incubator is necessary because toxic decomposition products of the blood pigment hemoglobin are deposited in the skin in newborns with jaundice.

31 Oct 2017

Novel midday bright light therapy decreases symptoms of depression in bipolar patients

Daily exposure to bright white light at midday significantly decreased symptoms of depression and increased functioning in people with bipolar disorder, a recent Northwestern Medicine study found.

11 Oct 2017

PCORI Board awards $8.6 million for new study on psoriasis treatment

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Board of Governors today approved $8.6 million to fund a new study comparing treatment options for people with psoriasis.

26 Sep 2017

Scientists propose new theory that ADHD may be linked to lack of regular circadian sleep

Around 75% of children and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) also have sleep problems, but until now these have been thought to be separate issues.

4 Sep 2017

Skin transplant surgery has long-term benefit for restoring pigmentation caused by vitiligo

A Henry Ford Hospital study has shown that skin transplant surgery has long-term benefit for restoring skin pigmentation caused by the skin disease vitiligo.

27 Jul 2017

Experimental drug suppresses new defective PTEN cancer pathway, study finds

A collaboration between Saïd M. Sebti, Ph.D., chair of Moffitt Cancer Center's Drug Discovery Department, and Michele Pagano, M.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at New York University's Langone Medical Center, led to the publication of an important study in the latest issue of Nature.

14 Jun 2017

Officers who work afternoon shifts more likely to be tired, study finds

Police officers on the afternoon shift are twice as likely to report being tired, according to a University at Buffalo-led study.

6 Jun 2017

Preference for evening activity in type 2 diabetes patients linked to greater depression symptoms

People with type 2 diabetes who are "night owls" and prefer the evening for activity report having more symptoms of depression than those who are early to bed and early to rise, regardless of the quality of their sleep, a new study finds.

2 Apr 2017