Trial Report Assessing Fatigue in ME/CFS before and after Treatment with Bright Light Therapy: a prospective randomized controlled crossover study, 2025, Ludwig

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945725001200

Sleep Medicine
Available online 14 March 2025
In Press, Journal Pre-proof
Assessing Fatigue in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients before and after Treatment with Bright Light Therapy: a prospective randomized controlled crossover study

Birgit Ludwig, Lea Hauer, Marion Böck, Cornelia Schillerwein-Kral, Lena Weyer, Doris Moser, Sonja Zehetmayer, Karin Trimmel, Stefan Seidel
1
Department of Neurology, Medica l University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
2
Comprehensive Center for Clinical Neurosciences & Mental Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
3
Rehabilitation Clinic Pirawarth, Bad Pirawarth, Austria
4
Center for Medical Data Science, Institute of Medical Statistics, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Received 25 October 2024, Revised 31 January 2025, Accepted 2 March 2025, Available online 14 March 2025.


https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2025.03.003
Open access

Highlights

• •
  First trial to study Bright light therapy with 10.000 lux in ME/CFS patients
• •
  2-week Bright light therapy not superior to wait list in treating ME/CFS fatigue
• •
  Attention was improved in ME/CFS patients after 2-weeks of Bright light therapy
• •
  45% of patients in this sample were diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome

ABSTRACT

Objective

The aim of the current study was to test the effectiveness of treatment with bright light therapy (BLT) on fatigue and cognitive function in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). A randomized-controlled cross-over study design was chosen in order to provide all patients access to BLT treatment and account for placebo effects.

Methods

In this study, a total of 36 outpatients with a diagnosis of ME/CFS according to the criteria of the Institute of Medicine (2015) were randomly assigned to a cross-over design starting out either with BLT or waitlist for the course of 2 weeks with a washout phase in between. Portable light boxes emitting full-spectrum visible light with a luminance intensity of 10,000 lux were used by the participants at home. Primary outcome of the study was fatigue as assessed by Chalder Fatigue Score (CFQ) and the secondary outcome variable was cognitive function assessed per standardized test battery (Test of Attentional Performance – TAP).

Results

The primary outcome variable fatigue was not significantly improved after treatment with BLT compared to wait list in the full cross-over design, although fatigue scores improved immediately after two weeks of BLT. Additionally, patients showed decreased reaction time after treatment with BLT in a subtest of TAP compared to wait list. Over 45% of patients were diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome.

Conclusion

BLT for two weeks is not effective for the treatment of fatigue in ME/CFS, but it might have beneficial effects on attention in patients with ME/CFS.

 

This research seems to have been treating ME/CFS as if it were depression.

I experimented with bright light treatment at home several years ago. It did help with depression very slightly, but I was really hoping at the time it might help me to regulate my sleeping times. It wasn't a huge success, and I resented the fact that the light I bought was very expensive for what it was, given that money is always tight.

 

Just a guess that they could find similar improvements if they changed the therapy to music, aromas, having a pet chicken, etc, meaning it's the result of bias in the qualitative questionnaires rather than the therapy.

 

I could certainly go for two weeks of free bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwiches, though. Count me in.