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.

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

Novel non-pharmacological approach shows promise to manage chronic pain

Chronic pain afflicts over 100 million people across the United States. It diminishes their productivity and their quality of life and costs hundreds of billions of dollars each year to medically manage. It shatters people's emotional wellbeing, tears apart families and claims lives through suicides and accidental drug overdoses.

1 Mar 2017

Research findings reveal new powerful role of sunlight on immunity

Sunlight allows us to make vitamin D, credited with healthier living, but a surprise research finding could reveal another powerful benefit of getting some sun.

20 Dec 2016

Vanderbilt sleep specialists offer tips to manage daylight saving time transition

When daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6, we set clocks back one hour, and essentially gain an extra hour of sleep—but that extra hour of sleep comes at the price of early evening darkness.

2 Nov 2016

Groundbreaking research on effects of NIR light could lead to effective treatment for PTSD

After years of studying the effects of near-infrared light on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries, a team led by a University of Texas at Arlington bioengineer has published groundbreaking research in Nature's Scientific Reports that could result in an effective, long-term treatment for brain disorders.

7 Sep 2016

CARRS-Q study shows caffeine combined with bright light can improve driver alertness

Bright light combined with caffeine can improve driving performance and alertness of chronically sleep deprived young drivers, according to a Queensland University of Technology road safety study.

9 Aug 2016

Altered circadian somatostatin expression linked to bipolar disorder

Results of the first study of its kind to link abnormalities in circadian rhythms to changes in specific neurotransmitters in people with bipolar disorder will be published this week in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

1 Jun 2016

Studies explore possible link between pediatric cancer and light therapy for newborn jaundice

Two new studies raise enough questions about a possible link between childhood cancer and light therapy for newborn jaundice that clinicians should exercise caution in prescribing the treatment for infants whose jaundice is likely to resolve on its own, a pediatric oncologist from Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center argues in an editorial published today by the journal Pediatrics.

23 May 2016

Non-invasive optogenetic therapy can help treat chronic pain

The potential of light as a non-invasive, highly-focused alternative to pain medication was made more apparent thanks to research conducted by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre.

21 Apr 2016

Light therapy lessens depressive symptoms among cancer survivors

Light therapy decreased depressive symptoms and normalized circadian rhythms among cancer survivors, according to new research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai presented today at the American Psychosomatic Society in Denver, CO.

11 Mar 2016

Vienna researchers investigate new light therapy treatment for people with migraines

Migraines often involve heightened sensitivity to light. In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, a team of researchers from the Medical University of Vienna is investigating new therapies to treat light sensitivity, which greatly disturbs those affected.

9 Feb 2016

Novartis announces FDA approval of Cosentyx for treatment of adult patients with AS and PsA

Novartis announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Cosentyx (secukinumab) for two new indications - the treatment of adult patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

17 Jan 2016

NEJM publishes results of Cosentyx Phase III studies in ankylosing spondylitis

Novartis announced today that the results of the MEASURE 1 and MEASURE 2 Phase III studies for Cosentyx® (secukinumab) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). These pivotal studies demonstrated significant clinical improvements with Cosentyx versus placebo in reducing the signs and symptoms of active AS – a long-term, painful and debilitating inflammation of the spine.

24 Dec 2015

Lucimed offers Luminette light therapy glasses for people suffering from seasonally induced issues

For millions of people, the arrivalof fall and winter are unwelcome events. A change in seasons often brings a change in their physical and mental health, due to fewer hours of sunlight.

31 Oct 2015