Scientists from Peking University have found that light therapy can relieve symptoms of dementia. The research was published in the journal Brain and Behavior.
The researchers analyzed data from 12 studies involving 766 patients, of which 426 were treated and the rest acted as controls. The lamps, located 60 cm from the patients, illuminated the patients with bright LED or blue and green light with a brightness of up to 14 thousand Lux. The lightbox was at eye level or higher. Sessions lasted up to two hours. Phototherapy helmets were used in some experiments.
After eight weeks, symptoms of depression or sleep quality had not changed, but cognitive functions had improved significantly. They were evaluated using the MMSE test.
The authors noted that the improvement they found could make phototherapy a breakthrough in the treatment of dementia. According to current estimates, the number of dementia cases worldwide will triple by 2050 to over 150 million. The main reason for this is the increasing number of elderly people worldwide.