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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2005 >> Has anyone tryed or done a study on this?
        
(Message started by: ArCane on Apr 29^th, 2005, 11:13am)

Title: Has anyone tryed or done a study on this?
Post by ArCane on Apr 29^th, 2005, 11:13am

I saw something the other day and I thought has anyone tryed this for CH. It was about these people having seisures because their internal clocks were out of wack. They used artificial sunlight to keep their internal clocks regulated and steady. Our CH cycles seem to have something to do, atleast inpart, with the seasonal cycles and the amount of sunlight in a day. If a clusterhead tried this and kept their internal clocks steady, would it help? Of course Ive been hit in every season, but could this prolong painfree time? Just wondering if anyone has done a study or anything on it. I would stand infront of a really bright lamp everyday if I could go PF ;;D. Just something to think about.

Title: Re: Has anyone tryed or done a study on this?
Post by Bob P on Apr 29^th, 2005, 11:36am

There was a guy some years back, who had a web site where he was reporting on using artificial, full-spectrum lighting to try to treat clsuters. He reported on it for a while and then the site disappeared. Don't know that anything definitive ever came from it.

As I get older, my remissions get longer. To the point I would now have to ask, what happens that triggers my clsuters every 3 years. I really don't think I can attribute it to outside influences.

Title: Re: Has anyone tryed or done a study on this?
Post by ozzy on Apr 29^th, 2005, 11:43am

Bob,

I remember that guy. As a matter of fact, that was the first website I found on CH waaaay back, when I was looking for more information on this.

ArCane,
I have searched the literature and there is not much on phototherapy per se, but there is a lot for melatonin (27 articles). This is what I found for phototherapy...

Quote:

Cluster headache and periodic affective illness: common chronobiological features.

Costa A, Leston JA, Cavallini A, Nappi G.

University Centre for Adaptive Disorders and Headache (UCADH), Section of Pavia I, Italy.

Many of the seasonal changes occurring in animals appear to be associated with photoperiodic modifications, and particularly with the duration of the phases of exposure to light and dark. The integration of these processes is made possible by the normal functioning of biological oscillators or synchronizers, presumably located at the hypothalamic level. Cluster headache (CH), seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and bipolar mood disorders are conditions bearing numerous analogies, particularly as regards the temporal pattern of disturbances, the nature of predisposing or precipitating factors, the peculiar relationship with sleep, the neuroendocrine findings, and the clinical response to current treatments. The secretion of melatonin, which is influenced by the light/dark cycle, displays a bimodal pattern, which is likely to be dictated by the activity of distinct synchronizers for light and dark. Changes in the secretory pattern of this neurohormone have also been documented in both CH and SAD. The possibility of normalizing the secretory rhythm of melatonin by means of phototherapy in SAD, and the therapeutic use of the hormone to prevent the recurrence of active phases in CH, represent further interesting similarities between these two disorders. Melatonin, acting as a unique neuroendocrine transductor of photic inputs, may therefore be viewed as a marker of dyschronic disease to be used in patients suffering from CH and affective illness, for both diagnostic purposes and to assess the response to pharmacological and non pharmacological treatments.

Publication Types:

* Review

PMID: 9800155 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Ozzy

Title: Re: Has anyone tryed or done a study on this?
Post by SteCo on Apr 29^th, 2005, 12:24pm

Good question....
I had been in the past a winter sufferer, but then flopped to the summer for a few years, until my current cycle. I still believe, in some degree, that season changes may have something to do with it...but when I think I get it all figured out..I really don't[smiley=huh.gif]

I had originally thought the reason I flipped to summer was due to a surgery and associated meds, but now I'm not sure......but really the only thing I could hang it on.

I asked the same question to Mclean, if the surgery might have had something to do with it. But generally speaking.....the higher number of daylight hours; the lower incidence of CH's. So I believe the thinking was for some reason, that my daylight exposure hours had changed (gotten smaller) therefore, the reason for the switch to summer. BUT when in fact, due to a change in office locations for me (much larger windows), I was consistantly exposed to many more daylight hours over the seasons.....so who knows...All I know now is I could get hit any season. But at least I do get anywhere from 6-9 months break in between.....thank goodness.
SteCo

Title: Re: Has anyone tryed or done a study on this?
Post by BobG on Apr 29^th, 2005, 12:46pm

I work a rotating shift. Days, Swings, Days, Graveyard, repeat each week. Been doing this for over 35 years. During the Graveyard week I usually get to sleep around 1pm and sleep until about 8. During the summer months that means going to sleep while the sun is shinning and waking up it is still shinning. In the winter I go to sleep while the sun is up and wake in the dark.
Dayshift means go to sleep after dark and wake to the sun in the summer or the dark in the winter.
Swing shift is always go to sleep after midnight and wake to the daylight.
Most of the time I don't even know what day of the week it is. It's almost as if I've had jet-lag for 35 years.
But, my clusters came at any time of the year, almost always during sleep no matter what time of day or night I was sleeping, sun shine or moon shine, no difference.
Maybe I should change jobs. I should be thinking about a career before I hit retirement age. ::)

Title: Re: Has anyone tryed or done a study on this?
Post by pubgirl on Apr 30^th, 2005, 7:17pm

I bought myself a light box to have by my computer, the thinking being that I spend so long sat here anyway and light boxes have been proven to help with SAD syndrome (which I believe many people in this country suffer from to a greater or lesser degree and I'm sure I have it mildly in winter) and there was a faint chance it might help prevent a CH cycle.

Trouble was of course it was winter moving to spring, within 3 days of using the light box I wacked into the worst cycle I have ever had.
??Coincidence or just the season or the increased light levels from the box set it off, I'll never know???

I'm going to risk using it again in the summer to autumn transition, which would have made more bloody sense in the first place if I'd been thinking straight :-[

Wendy