Effect of Blue Light Blocking on Reducing Manic Symptoms in Bipolar Disorder

The design of the study is a monocentric, single-blinded, two-arm parallel-group randomized placebo-controlled trial in a newly developed specialized mood disorder ward at the Geneva University Hospitals. The methodological aspects of this trial are elaborated in consultation with the Centre of Clinical Research (CRC) of our Hospital. The adjunctive treatment consists in wearing BBG for a few hours between 7pm and bedtime for ten days. Orange glasses (intervention) are from Melamedic®, type UV530 (Medical Device Class I - 93/42 EEC made in Denmark). The adjunctive treatment will be compared to a placebo (clear-lensed glasses), both groups will also receive an active treatment as usual (the standard of care for treating manic episode following Swiss and international guidelines). No treatments are prohibited. All pharmacological treatments will be recorded. Due to the particularity of the device, the clinicians and the patient cannot be blind to the treatment condition (orange glasses vs clear glasses) which is an acknowledged limitation. The participants were masked to group assignment by receiving identical limited information about the purpose of the study : testing the effectiveness of different types of glasses in reducing manic symptoms by blocking different wavelengths of light. Patients will be randomized after eligibility has been established and written consent has been sought. If the patient capacity to consent is impaired, legal representative will be informed and capacity to consent will be re-assessed before each visit to obtain a written consent (delayed consent). Signs showing that the participant is unwilling to participate in the study will result in the participant exclusion (explicit refusal). The expected total duration of participation is 10 days. Data will be analyzed in an intention-to-treat design.