Clinical Trial of Light Therapy for Epilepsy
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01028456 |
Recruitment Status : Unknown
Verified December 2009 by University College, London.
Recruitment status was: Enrolling by invitation
First Posted : December 9, 2009
Last Update Posted : December 9, 2009
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This study is designed to investigate whether light therapy may be an effective treatment for some people with epilepsy. Light treatment is already an established treatment for depression. The chemical systems in the brain that are disrupted when someone becomes depressed, overlap with some of those that can be affected during some epileptic seizures. The investigators have designed this study to see whether light therapy may also lead to a decrease in seizures in people who have epilepsy.
The study will be a placebo controlled trial. This means that half of the participants will receive a therapeutic dose of light therapy from a light box, whilst the other half will only receive a placebo light treatment.
Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
---|---|---|
Epilepsy | Other: Light Therapy Other: 100 lux | Not Applicable |
The aim of this study is to investigate a new, non invasive treatment for epilepsy that may be useful as an adjunctive therapy for people whose seizures are poorly controlled with anti epileptic drugs. Light therapy is a well established treatment for some forms of depression. From the cellular level to epidemiological studies, there are numerous strands of evidence in the scientific literature that indicate that light therapy could be also an effective treatment for some people with epilepsy.
The proposed study is a randomised placebo controlled trial of light therapy. One hundred people with medically refractory epilepsy will be recruited. Participants will be randomised to receive either therapeutic or placebo doses of light therapy from an identical device for 30 minutes a day during the treatment phase of the study. The statistical power of this study design is >90% to detect a 25% reduction in seizure frequency during the treatment phase. Although this therapeutic approach is more likely to be palliative than curative, it represents a non invasive and relatively inexpensive add-on treatment option for a sub group of patients who may have reached the end of the road in other medical and surgical treatment options.
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Estimated Enrollment : | 100 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Masking: | Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor) |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | A Randomised Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial of Light Therapy for Medically Intractable Epilepsy. |
Study Start Date : | September 2010 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | April 2011 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | September 2011 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
---|---|
Placebo Comparator: 100 lux
100 lux / 30 minutes day
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Other: 100 lux
Placebo light |
Experimental: Light Therapy 10,000 lux
10,000 lux / 30 minutes a day for 3 months
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Other: Light Therapy
10,000 lux / 30 minutes a day
Other Name: Diamond 4 light box |
- Number of seizures/month [ Time Frame: 3 months ]
- Mood [ Time Frame: 3 months ]

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years to 65 Years (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Adult
- Medically intractable epilepsy
- Min 4 complex partial seizures/ month
Exclusion Criteria:
- Ability to give informed consent
- Underlying progressive neurological condition

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01028456
United Kingdom | |
National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery | |
London, United Kingdom, WC1N 3BG |
Responsible Party: | Mr Philip Diamond Senior Research Administrator, UCL |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT01028456 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
09 H0716 68 |
First Posted: | December 9, 2009 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | December 9, 2009 |
Last Verified: | December 2009 |
Seizures Light Therapy |
Epilepsy Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Nervous System Diseases |