Light Therapy Eases Behavioral Problems In Dementia Patients

London, England (AHN) - Exposing dementia patients to about nine hours of daily bright light can significantly slow the progression of dementia, Dutch scientists are suggesting.

The relatively simple treatments, which reset the body's natural clock and the circadian rhythm, may ease some of the behavioral problems associated with dementia.

The bright light therapy in combination with a daily dose of the sleep hormone melatonin can help improve the patients' sleep, mood and cut aggressive behavior in the elderly suffering from dementia by 5 percent, researchers from Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam said.

The use of bright light and melatonin could greatly improve quality of life for both patients and caregivers and also help the patients sleep better at night, said the authors of a study in the June 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study involved 189 residents of 12 group-care facilities in the Netherlands, 87 percent of whom suffered from dementia. The mean age was 86.

Participants were randomly assigned to receive either long-term daily treatment with bright or dim light and to receive 2.5 milligrams of melatonin in the evening or a placebo for up to 3.5 years.

Bright light reduced cognitive deficits by 5 percent, cut symptoms of depression by 19 percent and decreased the gradual increase in functional limitations by 53 percent, relative to the dim-light group, researchers found.

Melatonin reduced the time it took patients to fall asleep an average of 19 percent compared with those who took the placebo. However, melatonin given without bright lights was associated with withdrawn behavior and aggravation. In combination with the light therapy, it reduced aggressive behavior 9 percent, compared with the placebo group.

Scientists say that exposure to bright light during daylight hours without taking any melatonin could also be effective in treating patients with dementia.