Health

The light at the end of the winter tunnel

October 28, 2011
Inspiring readings
  • (IN FRENCH) Du soleil plein la tête : Démystifier le trouble affectif saisonnier et ses traitements. Marie-Pier Lavoie en collaboration avec Gérard Pons. Éditions Quebecor. 2009
  • "Winter Blues - Everything You need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder" by Dr Norman Rosenthal
  • (IN FRENCH) Information about SAD and its treatments
  • Light therapy products
  • Ordre des Psychologues du Québec : to find out more about the different approaches and to find a psychologist near you
References
  1. Rosenthal, N., D. Sack, et al. (1984). Seasonal affective disorder : a description of the syndrome and preliminary findings with light therapy. Arch Gen Psychiatry 41: 72-80.
  2. Epperson, C., M. Terman, et al. (2004). Randomized clinical trial of bright light therapy for antepartum depression : preliminary findings. J Clin Psychiatry 65: 421-425.
  3. Lam, R., D. Carter, et al. (1999). A controlled study of light therapy in women with late luteal phase dysphoric disorder. Psychiatry Res 86: 185-192.
  4. Chesson, A. J., M. Littner, et al. (1999). Practice parameters for the use of light therapy in the treatment of sleep disorders. Standards of Practice Committee, American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Sleep 22: 641-660.
  5. Eastman, C. and S. Martin (1999). How to use light and dark to produce circadian adaptation to night shift work. Ann Med 31: 87-98.
  6. Cole, R., J. Smith, et al. (2002). Bright-light mask treatment of delayed sleep phase syndrome. J Biol Rhythms 17: 89-101.
  7. Magnusson, A. and H. Kritsbjarnarson (1991). Treatment of seasonal affective disorder with high-intensity light : a phototherapy study with an Icelandic group of patients. J Affect Disord 21: 141-147.
  8. Terman, M., J. Terman, et al. (1990). Experimental design and measures of success in the treatment of winter depression by bright light. Psychopharm. Bull. 26: 505-510.
  9. Lam, R., M. Terman, et al. (1997). Light therapy for depressive disorders: indications and efficacy. Mod Probl Pharmacopsychiatry 25: 215-234.
  10. Gorman, C., P. Wyse, et al. (1993). Ophthalmological profile of 71 SAD patients: a significant correlation between myopia and SAD (Abstract). SLTBR 5:8.
  11. Terman, M. and J. Terman (1999). Bright light therapy : side effects and benefits accross the symptom spectrum. J Clin Psychiatry 60: 799-808.
  12. Labbate, L., B. Lafer, et al. (1994). Side effects induced by bright light treatment for seasonal affective disorder. J Clin Psychiatry 55: 189-191.
  13. Kogan, A. and P. Guilford (1998). Side effects of short-therm 10,000-lux light therapy. Am J Psychiatry 155: 293-294.
  14. Lam, R., E. Tam, et al. (1999). Light treatment. Canadian consensus guidelines for the treatment of seasonal affective disorder. R. Lam, Clinical & Academic Publishing.
  15. Terman, M., C. Remé, et al. (1990). Bright light therapy for winter depression: potential ocular effects and theoretical implications. Photochem Photobiol 51: 781-792.
  16. Seggie, J. (1988). Lithium and the retina. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 12: 241-253.
  17. Remé, C., F. Hafezi, et al. (1996). Light damage to retina and pigement epithelium. The retinal pigment epithelium : Current aspects of function and disease. T. Wolfensberger and M. Marmor. New York, Oxford University Press.
  18. Bynoe, L., L. Del Priore, et al. (1998). Photosensitization of retinal pigment epithelium by protoporphyrin IX. Arch Clin Exp Ophtalmol 236: 230-233.
  19. Remé, C., A. Wenzel, et al. (2003). Mechanisms of blue-light induced retinal degeneration and the potential relevance for age-related macular degeneation and inherited retinal diseases (Abstract). Chronobiol Int 20: 1186-1187.
  20. Rosenthal, N. (1995). Syndrome triad in children and adolescents. Am J Psychiatry 152: 1402.
  21. Lewy, A., R. Sack, et al. (1987). Antidepressant and circadian phase-shifting effects of light. Science 235: 352-354.
  22. Leppamaki, S., Y. Meesters, et al. (2003). Effect of simulated dawn on quality of sleep--a community-based trial. BMC Psychiatry 3: 14.
  23. Feldman, G. (2007). Cognitive and behavioral therapies for depression : overview, new directions, and practical recommandations for dissemination. Psych Clin N Am 30: 39-50.
  24. Norton, P. and E. Price (2007). A meta-analytic review of adult cognitive-behavioral treatment outcome across the anxiety disorders. J Nerv Ment Dis 195: 521-531.
  25. Lawlor, D. and S. Hopker (2001). The effectiveness of exercise as an intervention in the management of depression: systematic review and meta-regression analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ 322: 763-767.
  26. Food and drug Administration (2006). First drug for seasonal depression. FDA consum. 40: 7.
Marie-Pier Lavoie

Dr. Marie-Pier Lavoie is a psychologist who founded Du soleil plein la tête, a company that educates the public and health professionals about seasonal affective disorder and its treatments. MA in psychology, her doctoral research in Experimental Medicine (Psychiatric Sciences) at Université Laval inspired her to launch her business. Thus, in addition to her main activity, private practice, she promotes treatments available for SAD in the media and describes their scientific basis. She also recently published a book on the subject at editions Quebecor to reach her ultimate goal of informing as many people as possible about this seasonal syndrome and its treatments. To reach her, visit her website: Du Soleil plein la tête. 

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