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An open study recently suggested that whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) had a therapeutic effect in depressed adults. Now, the same research group has conducted a randomized, double-blind, controlled, 6-week study of a single WBH session in 34 patients with a major depressive episode (mean age, 39; mean episode duration, 113 months). Most patients had taken ≥1 antidepressant and had ≥1 previous episode.
The two study arms were exposure to an apparatus with heating lights and coils that raised core body temperature to 38.5oC for about 1.5 hours, followed by a 1-hour cool-down, or similar time in a control apparatus that looked and sounded the same but produced just mild heat. Twenty-nine participants had at least one postintervention assessment. …