Adjunctive Bright #Light Therapy for #Bipolar #Depression: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16101200

Patients with bipolar disorder have recurrent major depression, residual mood symptoms, and limited treatment options. Building on promising pilot data, the authors conducted a 6-week randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of adjunctive bright light therapy at midday for bipolar depression. The aims were to determine remission rate, depression symptom level, and rate of mood polarity switch, as well as to explore sleep quality At baseline, both groups had moderate depression and no hypomanic or manic symptoms. Compared with the placebo light group, the group treated with bright white light experienced a significantly higher remission rate (68.2% compared with 22.2%; adjusted odds ratio=12.6) at weeks 4–6 and significantly lower depression scores (9.2 SD=6.6 compared with 14.9 SD=9.2; adjusted β=–5.91) at the endpoint visit. No mood polarity switches were observed. Sleep quality improved in both groups and did not differ significantly between them.

Conclusions:
The data from this study provide robust evidence that supports the efficacy of midday bright light therapy for bipolar depression

Domestic #light at night and breast #cancer risk: a prospective analysis of 105 000 UK women in the Generations Study
https://www.nature.com/articles/bjc2017359


Circadian disruption caused by exposure to light at night (LAN) has been proposed as a risk factor for breast cancer and a reason for secular increases in incidence. Studies to date have largely been ecological or case-control in design and findings have been mixed There was no association between LAN level and breast cancer risk overall (highest compared with lowest LAN level at recruitment: HR=1.01, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88–1.15), or for invasive (HR=0.98, 95% CI: 0.85–1.13) or in situ (HR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.83–1.11) breast cancer, or oestrogen-receptor (ER) positive (HR=0.98, 95% CI: 0.84–1.14); or negative (HR=1.16, 95% CI: 0.82–1.65) tumours separately. The findings did not differ by menopausal status. Adjusting for sleep duration, sleeping at unusual times (non-peak sleep) and history of night work did not affect the results. Night waking with exposure to light, occurring around age 20, was associated with a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer (HR for breast cancer overall=0.74, 95% CI: 0.55–0.99; HR for ER-positive breast cancer=0.69, 95% CI: 0.49–0.97).

Conclusions:
In this prospective cohort analysis of LAN, there was no evidence that LAN exposure increased the risk of subsequent breast cancer, although the suggestion of a lower breast cancer risk in pre-menopausal women with a history of night waking in their twenties may warrant further investigation

Effect of Transcranial Near-Infrared #Light 1068 nm Upon #Memory Performance in Aging Healthy Individuals: A Pilot Study

https://2medical.news/2021/10/23/effect-of-transcranial-near-infrared-light-1068%E2%80%89nm-upon-memory-performance-in-aging-healthy-individuals-a-pilot-study/

#Light stimulation of mitochondria reduces blood #glucose levels

https://2medical.news/2024/02/28/light-stimulation-of-mitochondria-reduces-blood-glucose-levels/