Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Controlled Cortical Impact Model for Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 5, 2014
Blue-Enriched White Light Therapy Reduces Fatigue in Survivors of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized
Maria-Antonia Quera Salva1, Eric Azabou, Sarah Hartley
1Sleep and Clinical Neurophysiology Units, Department of Physiology (Drs Quera Salva, Azabou, Hartley, Sauvagnac, and Leotard), INSERM CIC1429 (Ms Vaugier and Dr Barbot), Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Drs Vallat-Azouvi and Azouvi), Laboratory of Psychopathology and Neuropsychology, EA 2027, University Paris 8, Saint-Denis and Antenne UEROS-UGECAMIF (Dr Vallat-Azouvi), Raymond-Poincaré Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Garches, France; EA 4047 HANDIReSP, University of Versailles Saint Quentin (UVSQ), Garches, France (Drs Quera Salva, Azabou, Hartley, Sauvagnac, Leotard, and Azouvi); Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP-HP, Paris, France (Dr Pradat Diehl); and Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France (Dr Pradat Diehl).
Objective:
Fatigue is one of the disabling sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI), with repercussions on quality of life, rehabilitation, and professional reintegration. Research is needed on effective interventions. We evaluated efficacy of blue-enriched white light (BWL) therapy on fatigue of patients with severe TBI.
Setting:
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Physiology departments of University hospitals.
Participants:
Adult patients with fatigue symptoms following severe TBI, Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) score 4 or more, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score 10 or more, and/or Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI]) more than 5 were randomly assigned to one of 2 parallel groups: a BWL therapy group, with 30-minute exposure to waking white light enriched with blue for 4 weeks, and a group without light therapy (N-BWL), no light.
Design:
Randomized controlled trial. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT02420275.
Main Measures:
The primary outcome measure was the response of the FSS to 4 weeks of treatment. In addition, we assessed latency change of the P300 component of event-related potentials before and after therapy.
Results:
Significant improvement in the FSS score (P = .026) was found in the BWL group compared with the N-BWL group.
Conclusion:
BWL phototherapy reduces fatigue in patients with severe TBI.
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