Ottawa Sunglasses at Night (OSAN) Study

Status: Ongoing
Project Lead: Jess G. Fiedorowicz
Main Research Contact: Joe Burns
Funded By: Baszucki Brain Research Fund and the Milken Institute’s Center for Strategic Philanthropy

Mania is a serious condition with symptoms including of mania include decreased sleep, increased energy, and changes in mood, thinking, and behaviour. Dark therapy, which involves placing patients in a dark room for 14 hours overnight, can effectively treat mania, but is not practical. Dark therapy is also unpleasant. However, similar effects on the brain can be created from blocking only blue light with glasses.

In this study, we are building on evidence from a trial of blue-blocking glasses in Norway that produced dramatic improvements in manic symptoms within three days of hospitalization. Our study patients wear one of two types of glasses while awake during a 14-hour period stretching from the early evening to the morning. Our team conducts visits with the patients every few days for up to two weeks to assess their symptoms of mania and monitor for the emergence of depressive symptoms. At the end of the study, the research team conducts a qualitative interview with the participant on their experience with the glasses and with the study.

Read more about this study at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05206747.