The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Light therapy for seasonal affective disorder

    Sarah Pullman writes about her experience with The LiteBook Elite. She suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and had success with the older model.

    I thought it might be useful to read her anecdotal experience in light (Oops! Couldn’t help myself) of what we know from the literature. Also, Shoi, who has the credentials, comments on the post.
    Here’s what we know about light therapy for SAD.

    • The least invasive, most natural, and most researched treatment of SAD
    • An overall positive effect in up to 70% of people
    • Rarely any side effects
    • Treatment requires sitting in front of a bright light for 30 minutes to 2 hours each day
    • Not crucial when light therapy is used, but a greater effect occurs with a morning-evening combination
    • Use an artificial source of light if you must, but natural light works better as measured by less time spent in bed, earlier awakening, and reduced carbohydrate intake.

    A complete review of SAD including treatment options is available here. An update on SAD treatment is here.

    Illustration: National Organization for Seasonal Affective Disorder (NOSAD)

    2/28/07 22:44 JR

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