Light Therapy in End Stage Kidney Disease

March 25, 2026 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

Bright Light Therapy to Treat Fatigue in End Stage Kidney Disease

The goal of this clinical trial is to test light therapy in patients with end stage kidney disease who are receiving hemodialysis. The main aim is to determine if light therapy decreases fatigue severity. Participants will receive light therapy using special glasses for one hour during the dialysis sessions for four weeks of treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

In a single site, 2-arm (Bright Light Therapy group; Dim Light Group), parallel, randomized controlled trial we will enroll 60 subjects (n=30 per group) to assess the effects of Bright Light Therapy compared to Dim Light Therapy in subjects with end stage kidney disease who are receiving hemodialysis to treat fatigue.

  • To compare the effects of bright light therapy to dim light therapy on fatigue severity.
  • To explore the effects of bright light therapy to dim light therapy on salivary cortisol.
  • To compare the effects of bright light therapy to dim light therapy on insomnia, depression and quality of life.
  • To test the effects on bright light therapy to dim light therapy on physical activity levels.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • Recruiting
        • University of Pennsylvania
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Signed informed consent prior to initiation of any study mandated procedure
  2. Male and female participants ≥ 18 years of age
  3. Diagnosis end stage kidney disease with hemodialysis 3 times/week for at least 1 month
  4. Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) > 9 at enrollment
  5. Home refrigerator for salivary cortisol storage

Exclusion Criteria

  1. Eye disorders: cataracts, glaucoma, retinal disorders (e.g. macular degeneration)
  2. Participants with photosensitivity (e.g. epilepsy)
  3. Hospitalized or acutely ill

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Bright Light
Light therapy will be delivered by the Re-Timer glasses for 60 minutes during dialysis sessions.
Device: Bright light
Bright light treatment will consist of using the Re-timer device 3 times per week during dialysis sessions for 4 weeks. The Re-timer is worn like a pair of glasses and contains light emitting diodes mounted on the lower portion of the frame. The Re-timer emits blue-green 500 nm light with an intensity of ~500 lux lm/m2. Participants will be instructed to use the device for 60 minutes at the beginning of each dialysis session.
Other Names:
  • Re-Timer
Placebo Comparator: Dim Light
Dim light therapy will be delivered by the Re-Timer glasses for 60 minutes during dialysis sessions.
Device: Dim Light
Dim light treatment will use non-light emitting glasses that look identical to Re-Timer for 4 weeks at each dialysis session following baseline assessments. Participants will use the device for 60 minutes at the beginning of their dialysis session.
Other Names:
  • Re-Timer

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Fatigue Severity Scale
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Measures how bad or severe a person's fatigue is. Score range from 9-63; higher scores indicate increased fatigue.
4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Lea Ann Matura, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 2, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 12, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

March 15, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 25, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 855161

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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