Article

Fatigue is a common, persistent complaint following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Effective treatment is not well established.
OBJECTIVE: .The
current study aimed to investigate the efficacy of 4 weeks of light therapy for
fatigue in patients with TBI. METHODS: We undertook a randomized,
placebo-controlled study of 4-week, 45 min/morning, home-based treatment with
short wavelength (blue) light therapy (lambdamax = 465 nm, 84.8 microW/cm(2),
39.5 lux, 1.74 x 10(14) photons/cm(2)/s) compared with yellow light therapy
(lambdamax = 574 nm, 18.5 microW/cm(2), 68 lux, 1.21 x 10(12) photons/cm(2)/s)
containing less photons in the short wavelength range and a no treatment control
group (n = 10 per group) in patients with TBI who self-reported fatigue and/or
sleep disturbance. Assessments of fatigue and secondary outcomes (self-reported
daytime sleepiness, depression, sleep quality, and sustained attention) were
conducted over 10 weeks at baseline (week -2), midway through and at the end of
light therapy (weeks 2 and 4), and 4 weeks following cessation of light therapy
(week 8). RESULTS: After controlling age, gender, and baseline depression,
treatment with high-intensity blue light therapy resulted in reduced fatigue and
daytime sleepiness during the treatment phase, with evidence of a trend toward
baseline levels 4 weeks after treatment cessation.
These changes were not
observed with lower-intensity yellow light therapy or no treatment control
conditions. There was also no significant treatment effect observed for
self-reported depression or psychomotor vigilance performance.
CONCLUSIONS: Blue
light therapy appears to be effective in alleviating fatigue and daytime
sleepiness following TBI and may offer a noninvasive, safe, and
nonpharmacological alternative to current treatments.

Langue : ANGLAIS