TOMSK, Oct 21 – RIA Tomsk. Scientists of SRI of Semiconductor Devices and Center for Industrial Design of TPU and Mental Health Research Institute of Tomsk NRMC developed a device for the non-invasive treatment of depression; it can be used by pregnant women and people with drug intolerance, the website of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education reported.
It is specified that the device is a device for LED therapy. Its prototype operates on the basis of technology that creates a balanced spectrum of luminous flux with an intensity of up to 10 thousand lux.
"It can be used by patients with drug intolerance, as well as during pregnancy and breastfeeding in women, and has no analogues in Russia. This is a joint development of scientists of the Mental Health Research Institute of the Tomsk National Research Medical Center and Research Institute of Semiconductor Devices and the Center for Industrial Design of Tomsk Polytechnic University", – is said in the message.
It is added that depressive disorders are widespread in modern society and are considered one of the most "expensive" diseases associated with the brain. Chronobiological mechanisms play an important role in their origin. Bright light therapy is a "physiologically friendly" treatment and the first line of effective therapy for seasonal depression.
"LED therapy improves the quality of life for patients with depressive disorders and is a cost-effective treatment option for depression. The clinical benefits of the device are improved treatment efficacy for both seasonal and non-seasonal depression when combined with the use of modern antidepressants", – the report said.
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation with reference to the developers of the device, bright light therapy can be effective in the case of non-seasonal depression, and its mechanism of action is not limited only to the effect on the synthesis of melatonin (an important neurohormone with a wide profile of biological action) and is more multidimensional and complex.