Light and Ion Treatment to Enhance Medication Efficacy in Depression (LITE+MED): A Randomized Controlled Trial of Light and Fluoxetine in Nonseasonal Major Depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects up to 15% of the Canadian population and is one of the leading causes of socioeconomic burden. There are many effective treatments for MDD including antidepressants and counselling, but these treatments are not effective for everyone and they are limited by side effects and accessibility. Light and ion therapies are novel treatments that are effective for winter depression (seasonal affective disorder) and some studies show that they may be effective for nonseasonal depression. In this study, we will investigate the effects of light therapy and negative ion therapy alone and in combination with an antidepressant medication. If found effective, these non-medication treatments can be easily used by people suffering from depression.