The effects of light therapy on mini-mental state examination scores in demented patients.

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that demented patients may experience beneficial effects of light therapy. The authors tested whether bright light therapy (BLT) is capable of improving cognitive functions in patients with Alzheimer-type dementia (AD) or vascular dementia (VD).

Methods: Twenty-three patients with AD or VD were randomly assigned to either evening BLT or dim light therapy (DLT).