The special physiological importance of the UV-A spectrum for successful phototherapy

This article deals with the characteristics of the functioning of the human biological clock and the possibilities of its correction by light fluxes with different spectral characteristics in patients with seasonal depressions. Phototherapy as a nondrug method of treating seasonal depressive disorde...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human physiology 2012-11, Vol.38 (6), p.634-639
Main Authors: Pudikov, I. V., Dorokhov, V. B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Human Physiology
Life Sciences
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Summary:This article deals with the characteristics of the functioning of the human biological clock and the possibilities of its correction by light fluxes with different spectral characteristics in patients with seasonal depressions. Phototherapy as a nondrug method of treating seasonal depressive disorders has been used since the early 1980s. The investigation compares the efficiency of phototherapy with different spectral characteristics for correcting biorhythm disorders in subjects with seasonal depressions. Twenty-four patients with recurrent depressive disorders were examined in different years. In group 1, patients underwent a course of phototherapy according to the standard scheme (in the optical range); in group 2, patients underwent a course of phototherapy by the original method developed by the authors, with the light flux enriched in UV-A (360–380 nm) to model the structure of natural sunlight. The depth and rate of regression of symptoms in patients with seasonal depressions showed the higher efficiency of UV-A phototherapy compared to the phototherapy in the optical spectrum.
ISSN:0362-1197
1608-3164
DOI:10.1134/S0362119712060114