Efficacy of Light Therapy Device LUMINETTE® in Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a world wide spread disorder. According to the World health organization, MDD affects more than 300 million people of all ages in the world. Treatments of MDD include pharmacological treatment and psychotherapy. Pharmacological treatments, mostly serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors, have a delayed onset of action, require long-term treatment and have partial efficacy. In fact, only one third of patients respond to the first antidepressant treatment and two-third after multiple trials. So, there is a need for new treatment strategy.

Light therapy is a well established non pharmacological treatment of seasonal affective disorder, a clinical subtype of affective disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of depression occurring with a seasonal pattern. Patients are exposed to artificial light for a variable duration and intensity. Although the precise mechanism of bright light therapy remains unknown, it is thought to act through the eyes by activating the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the principal circadian pacemaker.

Inclusion criteria

• MDD diagnosis according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders I-V (DSM-IV), assessed by means of the Mini Neuropsychiatric International Interview (MINI).
• age between 18 and 60 years.
• affiliation with a welfare scheme.
• complete information on the study received and written informed consent signed

Exclusion criteria

• diagnosis of a progressive psychiatric disorder (except MDD and anxiety disorder) according to Axis I of the DSM-IV, assessed by means of the MINI.
• absence of routine care for MDD.
• previous or current LT treatment.
• seasonal affective disorder.
• high suicide risk, assessed by means of the MINI
• ongoing neurological disease.
• retinal pathology.
• participation in another study.
• patient impairment leading to difficulty participating or impossibility or inability to understand the information provided on the study.
• persons cited in Articles L. 1121-5 to L. 1121-8 of the French Public Health Code: pregnant women, parturient or breastfeeding mothers, persons deprived of their liberty by a judicial or administrative decision, persons under psychiatric care under duress, persons admitted to a health or social establishment for other goals than research, minors, adults subject to a legal protection, adults who are unable to express their consent and who are not subject to a legal protection measure.