Clinical Studies for winter depression and non-seasonal major depression

Clinical Studies

Mood Disorders-Winter Depression (SAD)

The soft green light provided by a Lo- LIGHT therapy Lamp has been shown to produce the same physiological effects as bright light therapy boxes that are 10 to 25 times as bright. This was originally demonstrated in a study conducted by Dr. A.J. Lewy with patients suffering from winter depression. This pilot study found that Sunnex Biotechnologies low-intensity laamps using a patented green light technology induced an equivalent physiological effect to bright white light, as measured by shifts in their circadian rhythms. Dr. Lewy is the originator of bright light therapy for winter depression, for which he coined the term "Seasonal Affective Disorder" or SAD. Reference 1

Since that pilot study, Sunnex Biotechnologies' low intensity light therapy lamps have undergone rigorous testing at a number of university medical centers and research laboratories. Lo-LIGHT therapy lamps have been used successfully for over 15 years by people with Seasonal Affective Disorder /SAD / winter depression, and sleep disorders. Although the Lo-LIGHT therapy lamp provides only a small fraction of the light intensity of a bright light therapy box or a blue light /blue-enhanced light therapy lamp, the equivalent effect is achieved with the same exposure time, safely and comfortably. The safety of a Lo-LIGHT therapy lamp stands in contrast to risk of retinal damage from the use of bright light and blue light therapy lamps where experts continue to express concern that the use of these high intensity therapy lamps may contribute to the loss of vision by the users of these devices. Read More

Lo-Light Therapy and Non-Seasonal Major Depression

The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (June 2003) reported that thirty minutes of morning exposure to low intensity (400 lux) of green light from a Sunnex Biotechnologies' Lo- LIGHT significantly hastened and improved the response of patients with non-seasonal major depression to anti-depressant medication (citalopram). In this study, the depressive episode ended within 2 weeks of the start of treatment for over half of the patients admitted to the health center suffering from major depression. Within 4 weeks almost 80% of the subjects were no longer suffering from depression. Reference 2

In 2004, the authoritative Cochrane Review on Light therapy for Non-Seasonal Depression amended their definition of "bright light" therapy to include Sunnex Biotechnologies' low-intensity Lo- LIGHT in their Review of Light Therapy for Non-seasonal Depression. The Cochrane Review gave an "A" quality rating to the above study using the Lo-LIGHT. Reference 3

Since then Benedetti et al have demonstrated that treatment with properly timed expoures to low intensity green light can cause rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in bipolar depression that occurs in a matter of hours or days. Following only one week of treatment, the majority of responders did not relapse within the 9 month follow period of the study. (J Clinical Psychiatry Dec 2005) In February of 2007, the American Medical Association's authoritative journal on psychiatry stated that properly timed low-intensity green light therapy causes"rapid amelioration of bipolar depression, in matter of hours or days". In this study, the authors used MRI brain scans to examine changes in brain activity that occur after remission of bipolar depression following a one week treatment protocol involving properly timed exposure to low intensity green light therapy. (Archives of General Psychiatry Feb 2007). Reference 4

In a 2007 article in Science, the authors explain that the very transient relief from depression induced by sleep deprivation can be sustained for months by combining sleep deprivation with properly timed light therapy. (Science, Sept 14, 2007). It also appears that the remission from bipolar depression induced by low intensity green light therapy is linked to its influence on the internal biological clock, and the extent of the response of the patients circadian rhythms to the light .(Chronobiology International, Nov 2007).

The benefits of chronotherapeutical interventions, including the combination of Sleep Deprivation and Light Therapy were summarized in Sleep Medicine Reviews in Dec 2007. The authors recommend that because of the demonstrated efficacy and the lack of any adverse side effects, this chronotherapeutic intervention be adopted as a first line intervention for bipolar depression. Reference 5

A collaborative study by the Canadian Defense Research Centre and the US Air Force published in Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine (2007) compared the effectiveness of 350 lux from a Sunnex Biotechnologies Lo-LIGHT green light with 1500 to 8000 lux of light from other products. In this comparative study on the effectiveness of different light therapy products on influencing human physiology, as determined by noctunal melatonin supression or the shifting of circadian rhythms, the Lo-LIGHT lamp was as effective, or more effective than a green LED visor (the Feel Bright Light©) or a device that primarily emits blue light, peak 465nm (The Litebook®), even though the Lo-LIGHT provided less than 5% of the light intensity of the other products; whether the intensity is measured by energy or by photon count.

Harvard University has also found Sunnex Biotechnologies green light technology to be superior to blue light technologies. Based on their studies on the influence of different visible light wavelengths (i.e.colors of light) on human circadian systems, Harvard determined that "the most efficacious specialized light source should have a peak near 500nm [GreenLIGHT] (as opposed to ~470nm [blue light] as the lamps produced by Philips Lighting, Eindhoven, Netherlands,...as originally proposed) and [are] therefore...retrofitting our laboratory with specialized lamps (manufactured by Sunnex Biotechnologies, Winnipeg, MB, Canada) with a peak sensitivity near 500nm." {From NASA's Advanced Capabilities Division's Research and Technology Task Book}.

See also

Studies on The use of Light to Improve Alertness and Performance of Night Shift Workers>

Information about the risk to vision from bright light therapy boxes

Therapists and eye specialists: Click for more technical information on retinal stress from Bright and Blue Light Therapy, and the advanced onset of ARMD

Information on our patented low-intensity light therapy technology - why 400 lux of Sunnex Biotechnologies' green light is as effective as 6,000 - 10,000 lux of white light.

Purchase or Rent-to-Purchase Plans

In North America, a no-risk rental program is available. If the unit is purchased within 2 months from the time of rental, all rental payments are applied towards the purchase price. Order Now!

The Sunnex Lo-LIGHT phototherapy lamp comes with a five year warranty. Details

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