Bright Light Therapy Adds to Venlafaxine’s Antidepressant Effects
A study by Pinar Güzel Özdemir and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry indicates that bright light therapy may improve the effects of antidepressant venlafaxine (Effexor) in patients diagnosed with major depression for the first time. In the study of 50 inpatients, half received 150mg of venlafaxine at 7am each morning, while half received 150mg of venlafaxine plus 60 minutes of 7000 lux bright light therapy at 7am each morning. Beginning after the first week of treatment, both groups showed significant improvement in depression and negative mood states throughout the eight-week study. However, at weeks 2 and 4, the patients who received bright light therapy showed greater reductions in depression, with 76% reaching the target goal of treatment after four weeks compared to 44% of the venlafaxine-only group.
Both venlafaxine and combined treatment with venlafaxine and bright light therapy reversed symptoms of depression, but adding bright light therapy may produce more rapid, stronger effects. Larger studies are needed to replicate these effects and determine whether they are long-lasting.
