Search

Patients who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) may experience cognitive impairment that can persist after treatment. Several studies have shown that bright light therapy may improve cognition, potentially due to its effects on the circadian system via brain regions that respond preferentially to light. In this double-blind randomized controlled trial, the efficacy of bright light therapy on cognition was examined in HSCT survivors. Forty-seven HSCT survivors at an urban hospital in the United States were screened for mild cognitive impairment, randomized to either bright white light (BWL) or comparison dim red light (DRL) conditions using a block randomization approach, and instructed to use their assigned light box every morning upon awakening for 30 min for 4 weeks. Assessments occurred at baseline, the end of the second week of the intervention, the end of the intervention, and at follow-up (8 weeks later). The primary outcome was objective cognitive function as measured by a global composite score on neuropsychological tests. Secondary outcomes included cognitive performance in individual domains, self-reported cognitive function, fatigue, sleep and sleep quality, and circadian rhythm robustness. Repeated-measures linear mixed models for both objective and self-reported cognitive function indicated significant main effects for time (p s < 0.05) suggesting significant improvements in both conditions over time. Time by light condition interaction effects were not significant. Models focused on secondary outcomes yielded no significant effects. Both BWL and DRL groups demonstrated significant improvements in objective cognitive and self-reported cognitive function over time, but there was no hypothesized effect of BWL over DRL nor associations with circadian rhythm robustness. Therapeutic effects of both light conditions, practice effects, and/or placebo effects may account for the findings. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02677987 (9 February 2016) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Few studies have investigated prostate cancer patients' experiences of cognitive functioning or neurobehavioral symptoms (i.e., behavioral changes associated with neurological dysfunction) following androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Methods Semi-structured interviews conducted from the US by phone and in-person were used to explore and characterize the: 1) experience of cognitive and neurobehavioral functioning in non-metastatic prostate cancer patients undergoing ADT ( n = 19) compared with patients who had not undergone ADT ( n = 20); 2) perceived causes of cognitive and neurobehavioral symptoms; 3) impact of these symptoms on quality of life; and 4) strategies used to cope with or compensate for these symptoms. Neuropsychological performance was assessed to characterize the sample. Results Overall, ADT patients experienced marginally more cognitive problems than non-ADT (nADT) patients even though there were no significant differences between groups in neuropsychological performance. ADT patients also experienced more declines in prospective memory and multi-tasking than nADT patients. Significant proportions of participants in both groups also experienced retrospective memory, attention and concentration, and information processing difficulties. With respect to neurobehavioral symptoms, more ADT patients experienced emotional lability and impulsivity (both aspects of disinhibition) than nADT patients. Among the causes to which participants attributed declines, both groups attributed them primarily to aging. A majority of ADT patients also attributed declines to ADT. For both groups, increased cognitive and neurobehavioral symptoms negatively impacted quality of life, and most participants developed strategies to ameliorate these problems. Conclusion ADT patients are more vulnerable to experiencing specific cognitive and neurobehavioral symptoms than nADT patients. This study highlights the importance of capturing: a) cognitive symptoms not easily detected using neuropsychological tests; b) neurobehavioral symptoms that can be confused with psychological symptoms, and c) causal beliefs that may affect how people cope with these symptoms. Effective interventions are needed to assist prostate cancer patients in managing these symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]