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Bright light therapy for seasonal affective disorder in Israel (latitude 32.6 degrees N): a single case
1Department of Psychiatry, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. lozian@netvision.net.il
Introduction:
We describe a patient diagnosed as having seasonal affective disorder (SAD, winter depression), an unlikely condition in Israel (latitude 32.6 degrees N), a country with relatively minor daylight photoperiodic changes between seasons.
Method:
Case report.
Results:
A 46-year-old woman with a clinical picture of depression (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnostic criteria for 'major depression with seasonal pattern') reacted positively to 3 weeks of daily bright light therapy of 10,000 lux/wide spectrum. She was asked to wear dark sunglasses during placebo sessions to accommodate an A-B-C single-case-design. The intervention resulted in an improvement of 74-80% in the Hamilton anxiety and depression scales (clinician-rated) and the Beck depression inventory, similar to results obtained in high latitude regions. The depression and anxiety levels returned close to baseline levels following 1 week of the placebo intervention.
Conclusion:
Seasonal affective disorder is apparently not limited to certain latitudes. The effect of light therapy was short-lived after discontinuation of the treatment, with rapid relapse occurring in the placebo phase.
