Application of phototherapy in children with headache

The paper presents an analysis of the influence of 10 sessiones of photothe rapy (exposure to bright white light, 3300 lux) in 9 children with episodic headache of tension (EHAT), in 21 children with chronic headache of tensio n (CHAT) and in 10 children with migraine. Clinical complaints, mood, auton omic status, blood levels of thyroid hormones, hydrocortisone, prolactin, e xcretion of catecholamines with daily urine were analysed. A course of phot otherapy resulted in improvement of the mood, a decrease in the number of t he complaints, a tendency to normalization of autonomic homeostasis, an inc rease in the levels of hydrocortisone and prolactin, a decrease of the high initial level of urine adrenaline and noradrenaline as well as elevation o f initially low one in 92,5% of children from all the groups. The most pron ounced positive effect was observed after phototherapy in children with CHA T, weaker effect was found in children with migraine. The conclusion is mad e about optimizing and modulating influence of phototherapy on the levels o f stress-realizing hormones and autonomic homeostasis, that improves adapta tion of a child's organism.