NCT06676488

A Randomized Crossover Trial of Bright Light Therapy in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 5 (actual)
• Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this research study is to assess whether morning bright light therapy (BLT) using a wearable device called a Re-Timer could potentially improve Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms and decrease intestinal permeability (leaky gut). Morning bright light therapy will be administrated through a safe-wearable glasses device called a Re-Timer. The Re-Timer glasses are lightweight and deliver blue-green light at 500nm, mimicking exposure to natural light.

Detailed description

The hypothesis of this study is that morning bright light therapy (BLT) using Re-Timer™ glasses in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients with circadian misalignment (CM), will improve IBS symptom severity, improve circadian misalignment, decrease intestinal permeability and improve stool microbial diversity. Our overall objective is to assess the effects of morning bright light therapy on IBS symptom severity, circadian misalignment, intestinal permeability and intestinal microbiota. We propose to conduct a 6-week, single center, randomized, crossover pilot trial involving 30 subjects with active IBS symptoms (IBS-SSS \>75), and circadian misalignment (CM) based on late chronotype (Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, Corrected Midpoint of Sleep \> 4:00h). Subjects will be randomized to BLT or placebo with a 2-week washout between each condition. All subjects will have assessments at two timepoints: after 2 weeks of BLT, and after 2 weeks of placebo.

Conditions

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• Circadian Misalignment

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Re-Timer glasses	Morning bright light therapy (BLT) will be administered through a safe wearable glasses device called a Re-Timer, purchased from the manufacturer Re-Timer.
DEVICE	Placebo Device	Placebo glasses not providing Bright Light Therapy

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-06-11
• Primary completion: 2026-03-31
• Completion: 2026-03-31
• First posted: 2024-11-06
• Last updated: 2026-04-07

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States