00-8.00 AM) and impramine 150 mg/day; (ii) bright light and placebo; or (iii) dim red light (500 lux from 6.00-8.00 AM) and imipramine 150 mg/day. Patients in all 3 groups improved significantly, but the improvement of patients with bright light plus placebo was nonsignificantly superior to the other two groups. Loving et al99 found that in 13 patients with MDD who underwent a half night of home wake therapy (sleep deprivation), those who subsequently received 10 000 lux bright white light for 30 min between 6.00 and 9.00 AM improved 27% in 1 week, compared with those receiving dim red (placebo) light at a comparable time. Bipolar illness Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical The effects of 2 weeks of bright light and 1 week Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of

dim light were investigated in patients with bipolar II SAD versus controls100 and bright light was found to reduce or eliminate all group differences and variability

in behavioral engagement, a mood dimension GW-572016 specifically associated with depression. Papatheodorou and Kutcher101 treated persistent depressive symptoms in adolescentonset bipolar disorder with adjunctive light therapy (10 000 lux twice per day): out of 7 patients, 3 showed a marked (70%) decrease in symptoms, 2 had a moderate (40%) decrease, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and 2 had mild to no response. In 2 patients with bipolar disorder and 1 with recurrent MDD, Praschak-Rieder et al102 observed that within the first week after beginning bright light therapy, 2 subjects attempted suicide and the third patient developed suicidal thoughts that were so acute and overwhelming that

the light therapy had to be discontinued. In Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical a patient with rapid-cycling bipolar illness, Wirz-Justice et al103 found that extending the dark/rest period to 14 h (plus a 1-h midday nap) immediately stopped the rapid cycling and when midday, then morning light therapy was added, depression gradually improved achieving nearcuthymia. In 115 bipolar depressed inpatients treated with total sleep deprivation,104 morning light therapy (150 or 2500 lux) and ongoing lithium treatment significantly enhanced and sustained the effects of total Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical sleep deprivation on mood, with no additional benefit when the two treatments were combined. Women’s mood disorders The efficacy of light treatment has been studied in women with premenstrual (late luteal phase) dysphoric disorder.105-108 whatever In an open trial of morning light therapy for treatment of antepartum depression, Oren et al109 observed that, after 3 weeks of treatment, mean depression ratings improved by 49%. Benefits were seen through 5 weeks of treatment and there was no evidence of adverse effects of light therapy on pregnancy. In two patients with postpartum depression,110 there was a 75% reduction in depressive symptoms with light therapy. In summary, the emerging evidence suggests the potential efficacy of light treatment in MDD, in inpatients and outpatients, and in women’s mood disorders.