Red Light Therapy(PBMT) To Treat Diverse Brain Disorders

Photobiomodulation (PBM) offers exciting opportunities for improving the life of patients with a diverse range of brain disorders. In this special collection of articles in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease experts review progress using PBM therapy to treat dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other disorders and suggest larger clinical trials should be conducted as soon as possible.

Previously referred to as low-level laser (or light) therapy (LLLT), PBM is the therapeutic use of red or near-infrared light to stimulate healing, relieve pain and inflammation, and prevent tissue from dying. In recent years, PBM has been used to treat a number of brain disorders including traumatic events such as stroke, global ischemia, and traumatic brain injury; neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease; and neuropsychiatric disorders including major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Studies indicate that PBM is an effective strategy to promote microcirculation and cellular proliferation and regeneration, and to reduce pain, edema, oxidative stress, and inflammation in many traumatic, acute, and chronic diseases. There is increasing interest in using it as a brain-boosting strategy in healthy young and elderly individuals.

There is growing preclinical evidence to support the hypothesis that PBM could ameliorate neuronal oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and apoptosis, and could also stimulate neurogenesis and synaptogenesis. Although to date the responses in animal models may be more pronounced, responses in human subjects and patients are still significant.

This collection of articles presents the current state of the art in the application of PBM therapy for dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and other brain conditions. It is guest-edited by Michael R. Hamblin, PhD, Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Science, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and Farzad Salehpour, MSc, College for Light Medicine and Photobiomodulation, Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany, and ProNeuroLIGHT LLC, Phoenix, AZ, USA.

"Brain PBM therapy is a promising modality by which red to near-infrared light emitted by lasers or light emitting diodes (LEDs) is delivered to the scalp to stimulate neural cells and brain function," explained the Guest Editors. "It has been shown to increase cerebral blood flow and also augment cerebral metabolic capacity. Nowadays, the applications of PBM therapy are extremely diverse in modern medicine, so that it has gained considerable credibility among available therapeutic strategies."

From:https://www.news-medical.net/news/20211014