Should We Prescribe Light Therapy for Our Sleepy Parkinson Disease Patients

Abstract

Researchers performed a two-center study to examine the safety and efficacy of light therapy on excessive daytime sleepiness. Thirty-one Parkinson disease patients who were free of dementia, free of primary sleep disorders, and receiving optimized dopaminergic therapy were randomized to bright-light therapy or dim red light (control) therapy. Additionally, the baseline Epworth Sleepiness Scale was 12 or greater, indicating moderate to severe problems with alertness. Light (bright or dim) was administered in the morning and the evening for 1 hour each on a total of 14 days. Disease duration was relatively short for the participants in the bright-light therapy …