CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03188263MLUpdated Jan 20, 2021Results posted

Morning Light Treatment to Improve Glucose Metabolism

An interventional study of Bright Light and Dim Light in PreDiabetes and Circadian Dysregulation, sponsored by Northwestern University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 35 Years to 70 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-01-20.

Sponsored by Northwestern University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
10
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
35 Years to 70 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The primary purpose of this pilot study is to test a novel head worn light device (Re-Timer®) as an intervention to improve glucose metabolism in people with prediabetes. The hypothesis is that morning light treatment will improve glucose metabolism. This is a pilot study and the data from this project will be used to develop a larger clinical trial.

Read the detailed description

This is a pilot study to determine whether light treatment can improve glucose metabolism in people with prediabetes. Individuals will be asked to complete a baseline session with one-week of at-home sleep monitoring followed by a 24-hour stay in the clinical research unit. During this stay, we will sample saliva in the evening to measure melatonin to estimate the timing of the internal biological clock ("circadian phase") and then we will perform a 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test in the morning to estimate markers of glucose metabolism, including insulin sensitivity. The participants will then be given a light device and instructed on its use. They will use the device for four weeks and visit our laboratory every week for a check-in. At the end of the four weeks, they will repeat the 24-hour stay in the clinical research unit.

02

Conditions studied

  • PreDiabetes
  • Circadian Dysregulation

Keywords

  • diabetes
  • sleep
  • circadian rhythm
  • light treatment
03

In context

Chronobiology Disorders

89 studies on the registry are indexed under Chronobiology Disorders; 21 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 10 is below the median of 65 across 58 interventional studies indexed under Chronobiology Disorders.

Browse Chronobiology Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

Northwestern University is the lead sponsor of 1,396 studies on the registry; 199 are open to participants now.

Of its 102 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 73 (72%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
35 Years to 70 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: 34 subjects (50% female, age 40-65 y)

Subjects will be:

  • Prediabetic (HbA1c 5.7% to \<6.5%)
  • overweight or obese (BMI>25 kg/m2)
  • be free of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (apnea-hypopnea index\<30).

The laboratory sessions will occur during women's follicular phase or women will be postmenopausal (≥6 months since last menses).

Subjects will be scheduled to participate ≥ 1 month from travel outside the central time zone, and during a time with minimal special events.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Women who are pregnant, planning on becoming pregnant, or are breastfeeding.
  • Women on oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy will be excluded (alters OGTT and melatonin).
  • Men and women who have a child at home that does not sleep through the night will be excluded.
  • Adults unable to consent, individuals who are not yet adults (infants, children, teenagers), pregnant women, and prisoners are also excluded.
  • History of any form of diabetes, including use of diabetes medications
  • Age outside 35-70 years (we will not enroll anyone older than 70 years because of a reduced response to light).
  • Smokers
  • Shift workers
  • Failed urine drug test (drugs of abuse, nicotine)
  • Eye disease/photosensitizing medications
  • Sleep medications, diagnosed sleep disorders (history of treatment may affect glucose metabolism),
  • Daily beta-blocker, NSAID or melatonin use (confounds DLMO)
  • History of psychiatric disorders (confounds effect of light treatment, per relevant items from Mood Disorder, Psychotic Screening and Substance Use Disorders Modules of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders - Non-Patient Edition (SCID-IV/NP) to screen for schizophrenia, bipolar depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, obsessive compulsive disorder, PTSD), depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression (CES-D) scale
  • Irregular menses
  • History of cardiovascular disease (excluding hypertension), endocrine, kidney, gastrointestinal or liver disorder, seizures, and cancer.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
10 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Bright Light

    Irradiance is 230 μW/m2 and lux is 500 lux.

    Other: Bright Light

  • Placebo comparator
    Dim Light

    irradiance is reduced from 230 μW/m2 to 3 μW/m2, and lux reduced from 500 lux to 7 lux

    Other: Dim Light

Interventions

  • OtherBright Light

    1 hour daily morning light treatment provided through a head-worn device for 4 weeks with the following settings: irradiance is 230 μW/m2 and lux is 500 lux.

  • OtherDim Light

    1 hour daily morning light treatment provided through a head-worn device for 4 weeks with the following settings: irradiance in this dimmed is reduced from 230 μW/m2 to 3 μW/m2, and lux reduced from 500 lux to 7 lux

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Glucose Levels (Area-under-the-curve) Measured by Performance on Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)

    The OGTT is a 3-hour procedure measuring blood glucose levels after the patient has consumed a 75-gram dextrose solution at -15 min, 0 min, 30 min, 60 min, 90 min, 120 min, and 180 min intervals. Total area-under-the-curve of glucose levels is calculated.

    Time frame: Change from baseline to after 4 weeks of light treatment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Changes in Circadian Phase Measured by Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO)

    The DLMO is measured via saliva samples collected during laboratory sessions. A sample is collected every half hour until bedtime starting 6.5 hours before habitual bedtime, and conducted in dim light setting to identify the point when melatonin starts being released.

    Time frame: Change from baseline to after 4 weeks of light treatment.

07

Results

Posted Dec 29, 2020
Limitations and caveats
Our planned enrollment goal was 14 participants in each group and therefore we were underpowered in the bright light group to detect changes in all outcome measures. Further, we were not able to perform secondary analyses, which included between group comparisons.

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneBright LightDim Light
Started100
Completed60
Not completed40
Withdrew: Withdrawal by subject30
Withdrew: Physician decision10

Outcome measures

PrimaryChange in Glucose Levels (Area-under-the-curve) Measured by Performance on Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)

The OGTT is a 3-hour procedure measuring blood glucose levels after the patient has consumed a 75-gram dextrose solution at -15 min, 0 min, 30 min, 60 min, 90 min, 120 min, and 180 min intervals. Total area-under-the-curve of glucose levels is calculated.

Time frame:
Change from baseline to after 4 weeks of light treatment
Reported as:
Mean · mg*h/dL
Change in Glucose Levels (Area-under-the-curve) Measured by Performance on Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)
mg*h/dLBright LightDim Light
Change in Glucose Levels (Area-under-the-curve) Measured by Performance on Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)-11.3 ± 11.0—
Statistical analysis
  • Bright Light · Sign test · p = .046 (A threshold of .05 was selected a priori.)A Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test was estimated to determine if pre-post measures of glucose levels differed significantly.
SecondaryChanges in Circadian Phase Measured by Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO)

The DLMO is measured via saliva samples collected during laboratory sessions. A sample is collected every half hour until bedtime starting 6.5 hours before habitual bedtime, and conducted in dim light setting to identify the point when melatonin starts being released.

Time frame:
Change from baseline to after 4 weeks of light treatment.
Reported as:
Mean · hours
Changes in Circadian Phase Measured by Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO)
hoursBright LightDim Light
Changes in Circadian Phase Measured by Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO)-0.6 ± 1.9—
Statistical analysis
  • Bright Light · Sign test · p = .35 (A threshold of .05 was selected a priori.)A Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test was estimated to determine if pre-post measures of glucose levels differed significantly.

Adverse events

Collected over 4 weeks. Non-serious events are listed at a 5% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Bright Light0/10 (0%)0/10 (0%)0/10 (0%)
Dim Light———

Baseline characteristics

There were no participants enrolled into the dim light condition.

Age, Categorical
Age, Categorical(Participants)Bright LightDim LightTotal
<=18 years0—0
Between 18 and 65 years9—9
>=65 years1—1
Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)Bright LightDim LightTotal
Mean52.1 ± 8.0—52.1 ± 8.0
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Bright LightDim LightTotal
Female6—6
Male4—4
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)(Participants)Bright LightDim LightTotal
Hispanic or Latino1—1
Not Hispanic or Latino8—8
Unknown or Not Reported1—1
Race (NIH/OMB)
Race (NIH/OMB)(Participants)Bright LightDim LightTotal
American Indian or Alaska Native0—0
Asian0—0
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander0—0
Black or African American7—7
White2—2
More than one race0—0
Unknown or Not Reported1—1
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Bright LightDim LightTotal
United States10—10
Hemoglobin A1c (%), Continuous
Hemoglobin A1c (%), Continuous(% of hemoglobin bound to glucose)Bright LightDim LightTotal
Mean6.0 ± 0.2—6.0 ± 0.2
Body mass index
Body mass index(kg/m^2)Bright LightDim LightTotal
Mean34.5 ± 7.1—34.5 ± 7.1
08

Study locations

1 site
  • Northwestern Memorial Hospital
    Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
09

References and documents

Study documents

  • Protocol, analysis plan and consent form · May 3, 2018

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

10

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 20, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03188263
Lead sponsor
Northwestern University
Collaborators
Rush University
Responsible party
Kristen Knutson (Associate Professor, Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine, Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jun 15, 2017
Start date
Sep 5, 2017
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2019
Completion
Dec 31, 2019
Results posted
Dec 29, 2020
Last update
Jan 20, 2021

Study contacts

Kristen Knutson, PhD
principal investigator · Northwestern University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Dec 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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