Clinical Trials Logo

Clinical Trial Summary

Circadian rhythm disorders are a class of sleep disorders characterized by misalignment between the timing of sleep and the timing of rhythms driven by the biological clock. Light therapy can effectively treat these disorders, but the intensity and duration of light exposure required to do so has limited its practical use. In this study the investigators will test whether pre-exposure to dim light may enhance the response of the circadian system to light therapy. If so, this could result in shorter treatments that would have greater practical applications.


Clinical Trial Description

Sleep disorders affect 35-40% of adults, resulting in diminished quality of life, and increased morbidity, mortality, and risk of automobile and occupational accidents. Circadian rhythm sleep disorders form a distinct class of sleep disorders characterized by misalignment between the timing of sleep and the circadian pacemaker. While light therapy can be an effective treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders, there are numerous practical limitations. Light is the most powerful signal from the environment that influences and regulates daily biological rhythms. It is well-established that the irradiance, duration, and timing of light exposure all affect the response of the circadian system. While it was once thought that these responses were mediated through the visual system, it is now known that there is a network of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) that mediate circadian responses to light. Other new studies have demonstrated that recent light exposure history affects the circadian response to light in humans. These recent findings have important implications for the use of light to treat circadian rhythm disorders, including delayed and advanced sleep phase disorders, shift work sleep disorder, and jet lag, and they may also have relevance for the use of light to treat seasonal affective disorder. Up to now, little attention has been paid to the duration or intensity of light exposure prior to such light treatments. The investigators now have evidence that the human circadian system can become desensitized to light during long exposures and evidence that it can be sensitized to light by prior exposure to dim light. These recent findings suggest that light treatment protocols that sensitize the circadian system prior to the light treatment will be more effective than those currently in use. The 13-day inpatient studies the investigators propose will examine the effect on the human circadian system of different durations of dim-light sensitization prior to a standardized light treatment. These results will be compared within subjects in a randomized cross-over design study in which each subject will receive a control treatment and a light treatment with prior dim-light sensitization. The investigators will also include circadian phase disorder patients to test these mechanisms in the target patient population. Our findings will provide an important step in understanding how new knowledge about the circadian photoreceptive system can be used to refine and provide better treatment options for circadian rhythm disorders. ;


Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT01327040
Study type Interventional
Source Brigham and Women's Hospital
Contact
Status Completed
Phase N/A
Start date October 2010
Completion date December 2020

See also
  Status Clinical Trial Phase
Completed NCT05346588 - THRIVE Feasibility Trial Phase 3
Recruiting NCT05991453 - Trajectories of Recovery After Intravenous Propofol Versus Inhaled VolatilE Anesthesia Trial N/A
Withdrawn NCT05096130 - Lifestyle Medicine Strategies for Combating Sleepiness and Fatigue in Professional Drivers N/A
Completed NCT00593736 - Efficacy of Ramelteon on Speeding Up Sleep in Subjects With Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome Phase 2
Recruiting NCT00387179 - Effectiveness of Combining Light and Non-Light Treatments for Jet Lag and Sleep Disorders N/A
Recruiting NCT04900675 - Bright Light Intervention to Reduce Students' Stress N/A
Completed NCT01881854 - Sleep Wake and Melatonin Pattern in Craniopharyngioma N/A
Completed NCT00246051 - Comprehensive Police Fatigue Management Program N/A
Recruiting NCT04690504 - Validation of Circadian Biomarkers in Patients With Sleep Disorders
Completed NCT03363529 - ROOM-LIGHT: Dynamic LED-light as Treatment for Depressed Patients in Inpatient Wards N/A
Recruiting NCT05701969 - Effect of Melatonin on Sleep Patterns of Resident Trainees During Night Float Shift Early Phase 1
Completed NCT00723580 - Actigraphic Analysis of Treatment Response N/A
Completed NCT00207285 - Sleep Disorders Management, Health and Safety in Police N/A
Not yet recruiting NCT06336525 - Adult Sleep Health in the Rural Appalachia and Mississippi Delta Region and Its Relationships With Cardiometabolic Health Disparities.
Recruiting NCT05618405 - Changes in Circadian Rhythm After Anaesthesia in Children
Completed NCT05684523 - Feasibility Study on the Use of Redormin®500 on Day-time Cognition Phase 4
Recruiting NCT05247125 - The Role of Circadian Factors in Regulation of Neuroplasticity in Ischemic Stroke (Interventional) Phase 4
Completed NCT04219566 - Vestibular Nerve Stimulation to Improve Sleep N/A
Not yet recruiting NCT06233422 - Longitudinal Ecological Study on Sleep-Wake Patterns in MDD Using Actigraphy
Not yet recruiting NCT06181110 - Sleep-Wake Patterns on Illness Trajectories and Treatment Response in MDD N/A