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Alzheimer's DiseaseNCT02502045

Effect of Therapeutic Light on Sleep, Circadian Rhythm, and Global Function in Women With Alzheimer's

A study testing Morning Simulated Sunlight and Non-therapeutic Red Light in people with Alzheimer's Disease, run by Yale University at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Determine effect and duration of effect of timed therapeutic light compared to control light on parameters of circadian rhythmicity, physiologic plasticity, sleep, and global function in women with Alzheimer's Disease. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 65 years and older, women only
Conditions the study is for
Alzheimer's Disease
What is being tested?
Morning Simulated Sunlight and Non-therapeutic Red Light
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
18 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
May 2012to Jan 2016
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 65 years and older
  • Women only
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • baseline sleep efficiency index < .85
  • Mini-Mental State Exam-2 Standard Version (MMSE-2:SV) score of 0-20
  • be medically stable

Who cannot join

  • received light treatment in last 3 months
  • are totally blind in both eyes, have photosensitivity or photophobia, Parkinsons disease, known untreated sleep apnea or other sleep disorders, seizure disorder, bipolar, schizophrenia, are actively receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Botsford Continuing Care

    Farmington Hills, Michigan, 48336

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: A Study to Examine the Effect of Therapeutic Light on Sleep, Circadian Rhythm, and Global Function in Women With Alzheimer's Disease

Determine effect and duration of effect of timed therapeutic light compared to control light on parameters of circadian rhythmicity, physiologic plasticity, sleep, and global function in women with Alzheimer's Disease.

Read the detailed description

The impact of disturbed sleep on cognition and functional domains is vitally important to study in order to increase our understanding of Alzheimer's disease (AD) phenomenology. Research has shown that the severity of sleep disturbance and dementia advance in parallel and possibly in a manner amenable to therapeutic intervention. In AD, sleep disruption is characterized by changes in sleep architecture. It is our contention that neuropathology specific to AD alters the circadian system at the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Environmental light is the most powerful regulator of this circadian system,4,5 and is known to have a significant regulatory effect on pineal melatonin synthesis and secretion via the SCN and multisynaptic pathways downstream from the SCN. This study will explore further the efficacy of a particular type of therapeutic light intervention in regulating the circadian system in AD, using data analytic methods capable of detecting changes at multiple time scales. Our central hypothesis is that properly-timed light exposure in individuals with AD will synchronize disorganized circadian and sleep-wake rhythms and improve functional plasticity [approximate entropy (ApEn), fractal dimension (FD)], thereby resulting in increased sleep efficiency (SE), reductions in sleep fragmentation (SF), reduced excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and dementia-related behaviors, and improvements in cognition and other daytime behaviors. Women are nearly twice as likely as men to develop AD due to longer life expectance and emerging evidence. In light of this increased risk and also to enhance other aspects of biological uniformity in our study, this project will investigate women with AD.

Being tested
Morning Simulated Sunlight, Non-therapeutic Red Light
Medical subject headings
Alzheimer Disease

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Morning Simulated SunlightDevice

    Timed morning simulated sunlight (Philips Wake Up Light, Model HF3520) peaking at 300 lux delivered over a 40 minute ramp between 5-9 a.m. for 14 consecutive days

  • Non-therapeutic Red LightDevice

    Non-therapeutic red light control at 5 lux will be used as the control condition

Study groups in NCT02502045
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Morning Simulated SunlightExperimentalTimed morning simulated sunlight (Philips Wake Up Light, Model HF3520) peaking at 300 lux delivered over a 40 minute ramp between 5-9 a.m. for 14 consecutive days. A flexible window of has been allowed to accommodate participants and care routines.
Receives: Device: Morning Simulated Sunlight
Non-Therapeutic Red LightPlacebo comparatorNon-therapeutic red light control at 5 lux will be used as the control condition
Receives: Device: Non-therapeutic Red Light

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in sleep characteristics

    Change in sleep characteristics and rest-activity rhythm after 2 weeks of light therapy as measured by actigraphy

    Measured: 2 weeks

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted17 Jul 2015 (estimated)
  2. Study startMay 2012
  3. Primary completionJan 2016
  4. Study completionJan 2016

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
18 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02502045
Sponsor's protocol ID
1310012895
Status last verified
Feb 2017
First submitted
16 Jul 2015
Last updated
20 Feb 2017
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Morning Simulated Sunlight and Non-therapeutic Red Light in people with Alzheimer's Disease, run by Yale University at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Feb 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in sleep characteristics (time frame: 2 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 20 Feb 2017.

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