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NCT Number: NCT06720090

Light Therapy for Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)

The goal of this clinical trial is to test whether light therapy is effective for reducing symptoms in young adults with OCD and late bedtimes (1am or later). The main question[s] it aims to answer are:

Does light therapy reduce OCD symptoms? Does light therapy advance the circadian clock? If there is a comparison group: Researchers will compare a higher dose of light therapy to a lower dose to see if dose amount affects symptom reduction.

Participants will asked to:

1. Wear light therapy glasses for 1 hour each morning and complete a daily light therapy log for 5 weeks 2. Track their sleep every day with a wearable monitor and an electronic sleep diary for 5 weeks 3. Complete a 1-time assessment of sensitivity to light exposure 4. Complete self-report measures of OCD 4 times/day at baseline (2 weeks), mid-treatment (1 week), and end of treatment (1 week)

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Key information

Conditions

OCD Compulsive Personality Disorder Mental Disorders Personality Disorders

Age range

17 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Early Phase 1

Primary location

Washington University

St Louis, Missouri, 63130, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Rebecca Cox

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Rebecca Cox, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

314-935-8111

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Primary DSM-5 OCD diagnosis
  • Bedtime 0100 or later
  • Age 18-35
  • English speaking

Exclusion criteria

  • Subjects must not be currently participating in another research study that would influence their participation in our study.
  • Diagnostic status
  • Treatment status
  • Night shift work or travel more than 1 time zone outside of Central Standard Time (CST) in the past month
  • Pregnancy status
  • Medication status
  • Regular nicotine or marijuana use

Treatment and study plan

Light therapy

Behavioral

5 weeks of light therapy administered via wearable light therapy glasses worn for 1 hour each morning after awakening.

Primary outcomes

  1. Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS)

    Time frame: Administered at baseline, in treatment week 3, and post-treatment (3 administrations over 7 weeks)

    A retrospective clinical interview of OCD symptom severity. Score range from 0 to 40 and higher scores indicate more severe OCD symptoms.

  2. Daily Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire

    Time frame: Administered 4 times/day for 2 weeks at baseline, 4 times/day for 1 week in treatment week 3, and 4 times/day for 1 week in treatment week 5

    Self-report measure of momentary transdiagnostic repetitive negative thinking. Score range from 6 to 42 and higher scores indicate more severe repetitive negative thinking.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Circadian melatonin phase

    Time frame: At baseline and post-treatment (after 5 weeks of treament)

    Dim light melatonin onset assessed by taking hourly saliva samples in dim light conditions for 10 hours beginning 7 hours before typical bedtime and ending 2 hours after typical bedtime.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Rebecca Cox, BA

CONTACT

[email protected]

314-935-8111

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Washington University School of Medicine

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Light Therapy for Obsessive-compulsive Disorder: A Circadian Medicine Approach

Acronym: KLTO

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2029
Study completion
2029
First posted
Dec 6, 2024
Registry last updated
Jul 6, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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