Can a light lift spirits? new study tests bright light therapy for depressed seniors in hospital
NCT ID NCT07002554
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether bright light therapy can help ease depression symptoms in adults aged 60 and older who are hospitalized for unipolar depression. Twenty participants will receive either active light therapy or a dim placebo light. The main goals are to see if the treatment is practical and to gather early data on its effectiveness.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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60 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria: * A current episode of non-psychotic unipolar depression as the primary reason for psychiatric hospitalization * Currently hospitalized on the MUSC Senior Care Unit * Age 60 years or older * HAMD-17 ≥8 Exclusion criteria: * Any prior use of bright light therapy * Primary indication for hospitalization is for a disorder other than major depressive disorder (determined by patient's treatment team) * Photosensitive medical conditions or current use of photosensitizing medications - if patients have been advised by a treating clinician at any point to avoid sunlight because of their current medication regimen or medical condition, they will be considered to have a photosensitive medical condition and will be excluded from this study. * Treatment with ECT; if a patient's condition deteriorates during study participation such that the treatment team feels ECT would be in their best interest, they will be withdrawn from study participation. For logistical and transport purposes, the study team feels that exclusion of patients receiving ECT will be necessarily. Additionally, these patients would likely be excluded from a future larger RCT given that ECT would likely interfere with signal of BLT efficacy. * Uncontrolled headaches or any migraines within the last month * Major neurocognitive disorder * Severe intellectual disability * Inability to consent for the study * Active psychosis * Inmates
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Medical University of South Carolina Institute of Psychiatry Senior Care Unit
Charleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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