Treatment of Post-Traumatic Brain Injury (Post-TBI) Fatigue With Light Therapy

Treatment of Post-TBI Fatigue With Light Therapy

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of 4 weeks of daily light exposure in reducing Post-Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Fatigue immediately post-treatment and at a one-month follow up. The investigators hypothesize that individuals receiving 4 weeks of bright white light treatment will report significant reductions in fatigue compared to individuals receiving dim red light treatment for the same duration of time, and that these treatment effects will be maintained one month after treatment completion.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Fatigue; Traumatic Brain Injury
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Bright White Light (BWL); Device: Dim Red Light (DRL)

Detailed Description

To determine the efficacy of bright white light exposure compared to dim red light exposure in reducing post-TBI fatigue, an 8-week, randomized parallel-group clinical trial will be performed. Outcome assessment will be blinded. Participants will complete a baseline battery (T1) including 72 hours of actigraphy. Participants will then be randomized to either the Bright White Light (BWL) or the Dim Red Light (DRL) group. After 4 weeks of daily, 30-minute light treatments, the baseline battery will be re-administered (T2) along with 3 more days of Actigraphy. A follow-up assessment involving the same measures will be administered 1 month-post cessation of light therapy (T3). Participant treatment allocations will be masked for research team members conducting outcome measures. Secondary outcome measures will be administered to explore the effects of light therapy on mood, daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, circadian rhythms, anxiety, cognition and life satisfaction.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 88
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10029
      • The Brain Injury Research Center at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Documented TBI of any severity
• At least 6 months post injury
• Presence of clinically significant fatigue, operationalized as a score of 22 or more on the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue
• Age 18 or older
• English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Neurological disease other than TBI
• Pregnancy (because of pregnancy fatigue)
• Medical illness causing fatigue, such as anemia, hypothyroidism, HIV, renal failure, cirrhosis or cancer treatment in the past year
• Current major depressive episode or substance abuse
• Diagnosed sleep disorder or high risk for sleep apnea
• History of bipolar disorder or manic or hypomanic episodes
• Current chronic, severe headaches
• Sensitivity to bright light
• History of retinal damage or disease

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: SINGLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Bright White Light (BWL); Participants will self-administer bright white light daily using a Litebook® (The Litebook Company Ltd.). The Litebook is a small (6" x 5" x 1") and lightweight (8 oz.) box.	Device: Bright White Light (BWL); Participants will self-administer bright white light daily. Litebooks used for Bright White Light and Dim Red Light are identical except for the light which they emit. Users are instructed to place it about 18" from their face and within 45º of the visual field for 30 minutes within half an hour of waking each morning, for 4 weeks. The participant may eat, read, watch TV, etc. while sitting in front of the box.; Other Names: Litebook - Bright White Light
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Dim Red Light (DRL); Participants will self-administer dim red light daily using a device that appears identical to Bright White Light (BWL) Litebook but that uses red LEDs emitting DRL.	Device: Dim Red Light (DRL); A device that appears identical to BWL Litebook but that uses red LEDs emitting DRL. Users are instructed to place it about 18" from their face and within 45º of the visual field for 30 minutes within half an hour of waking each morning, for 4 weeks. The participant may eat, read, watch TV, etc. while sitting in front of the box.; Other Names: Litebook - Dim Red Light

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue (MAF)	Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue (MAF) yields a Global Fatigue Index (GFI), assessing 5 dimensions of fatigue: distress, degree, severity, impact on ADLs and frequency of fatigue in the past week, and it yields a composite score. GFI full score from 0-50, with a higher score indicating more severe fatigue, fatigue distress, or impact on activities of daily living.	baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
TBI-QOL Fatigue	The Traumatic Brain Injury-Quality Of Life Fatigue (TBI-QOL) measures form part of the Promis Neuro-QOL initiative and include well-validated self-report measures that assess the health-related QOL of individuals with neurological disorders. All TBI-QOL scores have been transformed to a T metric,from 0-100, with a mean of 50 (SD = 10), with a higher score indicating more fatigue.	baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Neuro-QOL Depression and Sleep	The Neuro-QOL Depression and Sleep measures the physical, mental, and social effects experienced by adults and children living with neurological conditions. Raw scores were converted to T-Scores; from 0-100, with a T = 50 indicating average function compared to the reference population and a standard deviation of 10, with a higher score indicating worse function.	baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)	The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) will also be used, to assess daytime sleepiness; it is an 8-item measure that asks about the probability of dozing or sleeping during typical daytime activities and has been widely used in TBI research. Scores correlate well with objective measures of speed of daytime sleep onset. The test is a list of eight situations in which the participate rates tendency to become sleepy on a scale of 0, no chance of dozing, to 3, high chance of dozing for each item. Total scale from 0 to 24, with higher score indicating severe excessive daytime sleepiness.	baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
CNS Vital Signs TBI Rehab Toolbox	The Centre for Neuro Skills Vital Signs TBI Rehab Toolbox is a brief, 25-minute computerized cognition battery; it emphasizes those cognitive functions that are the most likely to respond to alerting effects of light (vigilance, attention, speed) and has multiple forms for serial assessment. The scores are reported as Standard Scores, with mean = 100 and standard deviation = 15. Higher scores are correlated with better outcomes.	baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Cognitive Failures Questionnaire	The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ)100 is a 25-item self-report inventory, with items measuring difficulties in several cognitive domains (e.g., memory, perception), each item scored from 0 (never) to 4 (very often), with total scale from 0 - 100, with higher score indicating worse outcome.	baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Neuro-QOL Anxiety	The Neuro-QOL Anxiety measure. Raw scores were converted to T-Scores; from 0-100, with a T = 50 indicating average function compared to the reference population and a standard deviation of 10, with a higher score indicating worse anxiety.	baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Actiwatch Spectrum - Acrophase	Philips Actiwatch Spectrum to measure circadian rhythms; it is the size and shape of a digital wristwatch and weighs about one ounce. It is worn on an ordinary watchband and is waterproof. Data can be downloaded and analyzed using Actiware software. The Actiwatch Spectrum logs all physical movement using a piezoelectric accelerometer and detects the presence of ambient light (400-700nm), making it a useful measure of circadian cycles because it allows for accurate quantitative assessment of periods of activity, rest and sleep. Acrophase is time of the peak activity, so it is expressed in hours. The higher the number, the later in the day the peak activity occurs.	4 weeks post treatment
Actiwatch Spectrum - Mesor	Philips Actiwatch Spectrum to measure circadian rhythms; it is the size and shape of a digital wristwatch and weighs about one ounce. It is worn on an ordinary watchband and is waterproof. Data can be downloaded and analyzed using Actiware software. The Actiwatch Spectrum logs all physical movement using a piezoelectric accelerometer and detects the presence of ambient light (400-700nm), making it a useful measure of circadian cycles because it allows for accurate quantitative assessment of periods of activity, rest and sleep. Mesor is an adjusted proportion of the difference between the minimum and half the peak, so range is 0-1. Higher means a more rhythmic pattern.	4 weeks post treatment
Actiwatch Spectrum - F Statistic	Philips Actiwatch Spectrum to measure circadian rhythms; it is the size and shape of a digital wristwatch and weighs about one ounce. It is worn on an ordinary watchband and is waterproof. Data can be downloaded and analyzed using Actiware software. The Actiwatch Spectrum logs all physical movement using a piezoelectric accelerometer and detects the presence of ambient light (400-700nm), making it a useful measure of circadian cycles because it allows for accurate quantitative assessment of periods of activity, rest and sleep. F statistic is an F value, so the range is 0 - infinity. It compares two different models of calculating the curve. Higher means a more rhythmic pattern.	4 weeks post treatment
Satisfaction With Life Scale	Satisfaction with Life Scale, a 5-item measure of global satisfaction with life, on likert scale from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree. Total scale from 5 to 35, with higher scores indicating more satisfaction with life, and 20 representing a neutral point on the scale.	baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication	An adapted version of the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM). This is a validated, psychometrically sound measure of general treatment satisfaction. The TSQM scores range from 0 to 100 with higher scores representing higher satisfaction.	at 4 weeks (end-of-treatment)
Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire	Assess treatment credibility (BWL vs. DRL) with the Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ), used in clinical outcome studies. The CEQ utilizes two scales during the administration (1-9, and 0-100%), and so a composite z score was derived for each factor (expectancy and credibility) by first standardizing the individual items and then summing those items for each factor. The Z-score indicates the number of standard deviations away from the mean. A Z-score of 0 is equal to the mean. A higher score indicates more belief or feeling of reduction in anxiety.	at 4 weeks (end-of-treatment)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kirsten Dams-O'Connor, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): June 1, 2017
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): June 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 7, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 8, 2012
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): November 14, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): August 7, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 15, 2019
• Last Verified: July 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Treatment; Anxiety; Fatigue; TBI; Intervention; Circadian Rhythm; Traumatic Brain Injury; Cognitive Dysfunction; Excessive Daytime Sleepiness; Post-TBI Fatigue; PTBIF; Depressed Mood
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Wounds and Injuries; Craniocerebral Trauma; Trauma, Nervous System; Fatigue; Brain Injuries; Brain Injuries, Traumatic
• Other Study ID Numbers: GCO 12-1256; HSM 12-00759; H133A120084 (OTHER_GRANT: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes