Brighten up your antidepressant therapy .Au~entation of antidepressant therapy with

bnght hght therapy was shown to improve depressive symptoms in patients with recurrent major depression who had previously received antidepressant therapy alone but who had relapsed or failed to respond to such therapy. This study was conducted during the Canadian winter in patients whose symptoms did not have a seasonal predilection; however, in 5 patients, symptoms were exacerbated in the winter.

The patients continued their usual antidepressant therapy and were treated with bright fluoroscent light for 1 hour each day for 2 weeks. Moderate to marked improvement of depressive symptoms occurred in 7 jl 0 patients. Two responding patients were subsequently treated with light alone; 1 of these patients relapsed after 2 weeks but the other maintained improvement. 'The safety and rapid onset of action of bright light may make this form of therapy a potentially useful augmentation agent.' Levitl AJ. Joffe RT. Kennedy SH. Bright light augmentation in antidepressant non responders. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 52: 336-337. Aug 1991

14 5 Oct 1991 INPHARMA®

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ISSN 0156-2703/91//005-0002/0101.00/0 co AdiJ I"te,.".tioul Ltd