H-NMR spin-lattice and correlation times of burned soft-tissue after treatment with an infrared pulsed laser device

Brain photobiomodulation therapy on neurological and psychological diseases

Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy is an innovative treatment for neurological and psychological conditions. Complex IV of the mitochondrial respiratory chain can be stimulated by red light, which increases ATP synthesis. In addition, the ion channels' light absorption causes the release of Ca2+, which activates transcription factors and changes gene expression. Neuronal metabolism is improved by brain PBM therapy, which also promotes synaptogenesis and neurogenesis as well as anti-inflammatory. Its depression-treating potential is attracting attention for other conditions, including Parkinson's disease and dementia. Giving enough dosage for optimum stimulation using the transcranial PBM technique is challenging because of the rapidly increasing attenuation of light transmission in tissue. Different strategies like intranasal and intracranial light delivery systems have been proposed to overcome this restriction. The most recent preclinical and clinical data on the effectiveness of brain PBM therapy are studied in this review article.

Smart biomaterials and their potential applications in tissue engineering

Smart biomaterials have been rapidly advancing ever since the concept of tissue engineering was proposed. Interacting with human cells, smart biomaterials can play a key role in novel tissue morphogenesis. Various aspects of biomaterials utilized in or being sought for the goal of encouraging bone regeneration, skin graft engineering, and nerve conduits are discussed in this review. Beginning with bone, this study summarizes all the available bioceramics and materials along with their properties used singly or in conjunction with each other to create scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. A quick overview of the skin-based nanocomposite biomaterials possessing antibacterial properties for wound healing is outlined along with skin regeneration therapies using infrared radiation, electrospinning, and piezoelectricity, which aid in wound healing. Furthermore, a brief overview of bioengineered artificial skin grafts made of various natural and synthetic polymers has been presented. Finally, by examining the interactions between natural and synthetic-based biomaterials and the biological environment, their strengths and drawbacks for constructing peripheral nerve conduits are highlighted. The description of the preclinical outcome of nerve regeneration in injury healed with various natural-based conduits receives special attention. The organic and synthetic worlds collide at the interface of nanomaterials and biological systems, producing a new scientific field including nanomaterial design for tissue engineering.

Biological effects and medical applications of infrared radiation

Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between 760nm and 100,000nm. Low-level light therapy (LLLT) or photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy generally employs light at red and near-infrared wavelengths (600-100nm) to modulate biological activity. Many factors, conditions, and parameters influence the therapeutic effects of IR, including fluence, irradiance, treatment timing and repetition, pulsing, and wavelength. Increasing evidence suggests that IR can carry out photostimulation and photobiomodulation effects particularly benefiting neural stimulation, wound healing, and cancer treatment. Nerve cells respond particularly well to IR, which has been proposed for a range of neurostimulation and neuromodulation applications, and recent progress in neural stimulation and regeneration are discussed in this review. The applications of IR therapy have moved on rapidly in recent years. For example, IR therapy has been developed that does not actually require an external power source, such as IR-emitting materials, and garments that can be powered by body heat alone. Another area of interest is the possible involvement of solar IR radiation in photoaging or photorejuvenation as opposites sides of the coin, and whether sunscreens should protect against solar IR? A better understanding of new developments and biological implications of IR could help us to improve therapeutic effectiveness or develop new methods of PBM using IR wavelengths.

"Quantum Leap" in Photobiomodulation Therapy Ushers in a New Generation of Light-Based Treatments for Cancer and Other Complex Diseases: Perspective and Mini-Review

OBJECTIVE

Set within the context of the 2015 International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies,and of a growing and aging world population with ever-rising healthcare needs, this perspective and mini-review focuses on photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy as an emerging, cost-effective, treatment option for cancer (i.e., solid tumors) and other complex diseases, particularly, of the eye (e.g., age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa) and the central nervous system (e.g., Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease).

BACKGROUND DATA

Over the last decades, primary and secondary mechanisms of PBM have been revealed. These include oxygen-dependent and oxygen-independent structural and functional action pathways. Signal and target characteristics determine biological outcome, which is optimal (or even positive) only within a given set of parameters.

METHODS

This study was a perspective and nonsystematic literature mini-review.

RESULTS

Studies support what we describe as a paradigm shift or "quantum leap" in the understanding and use of light and its interaction with water and other relevant photo-cceptors to restore physiologic function.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on existing evidence, it is argued that PBM therapy can raise the standard of care and improve the quality of life of patients for a fraction of the cost of many current approaches. PBM therapy can, therefore,benefit large, vulnerable population groups, including the elderly and the poor, whilehaving a major impact on medical practice and public finances.

Photobiomodulation of aqueous interfaces as selective rechargeable bio-batteries in complex diseases: personal view

OBJECTIVE

In this personal view, we propose that the modulation of the structure and function of water by light may come to embody a new mechanistic approach for the treatment of complex diseases.

BACKGROUND DATA

Long considered an innocuous medium, water has increasingly been found to be a key player in numerous mechanisms, including first-contact events in which cells decide between survival and apoptosis. Consequently, externally applied electromagnetic energy (light) may selectively target the organization of water to steer biological function.

METHODS

We survey light-water research with particular emphasis on the quasi-crystalline exclusion zone (EZ), part of the cell's aqueous interface that is just now beginning to be decoded. The current state of research, the technical challenges involved in obtaining evidence in biological systems, and some potential uses and implications of EZ water in medicine are presented.

RESULTS

Though existing data have not yet proven the role of EZ water in photobiomodulation, research shows that EZ water can store charge and can later return it in the form of current flow, with as much as 70% of the input charge being readily obtainable. Macroscopic separation of charges can be stable for days to weeks and has unusual electric potential. Water is, thus, an unexpectedly effective charge separation and storage medium.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose that the EZ may be selectively targeted in photobiomodulation as an efficient energy reservoir, which cells can use expeditiously to fuel cellular work, triggering signaling pathways and gene expression in the presence of injury-induced redox potentials.

Theoretic, experimental, clinical bases of the water oscillator hypothesis in near-infrared photobiomodulation

The objective of this review is to propose and document a role for the water oscillator in near-infrared (NIR) photobiomodulation. Greater understanding of the role of the water oscillator may add to a more-coherent description of central effects of NIR light on redox centers and key transmembrane enzymes such as cytochrome c oxidase (CcO). In addition, water provides a complementary pathway for absorption and transportation of NIR energy in photobiomodulation. Because of its unexpected potential, we propose terming it the "water oscillator paradox." Photobiologic mechanisms involved in the treatment of complex diseases are discussed in light of the present state of the art.

Effect of GaAlAs laser irradiation on enzyme activity

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of laser irradiation on enzyme activity.

BACKGROUND DATA

Enzymes are catalysts of extraordinary efficiency, able to accelerate reactions by manifold. Enzyme laser light activation is currently a fast-growing field and a large number of studies have been produced.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Liquid CNPG amylase and control serum (Qualitrol 1H) were used in the experiments. Laboratory analysis of alpha-amylase was performed on two sample groups: (i) E + S and (ii) E + S + L, in six repetitions per irradiation dose. Group 2 was irradiated with gallium-aluminum-arsenide (GaAlAs) 904 nm at doses of 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, and 1 J/cm(2). Enzyme activity was read using a spectrophotometer equipped with a thermostatic chamber capable of precise absorbance measurement at 405 nm.

RESULTS

The results were analyzed with the Student's t-test, and the percentage of enzyme activity was determined. Photomodulation of alpha-amylase activity by GaAlAs laser was analyzed following irradiation with different doses. Irradiation doses from 0.01 to 1 J/cm(2) led to differences in enzyme activity: 0.01 J/cm(2) (0.10%), 0.1 J/cm(2) (13.44%), 0.5 J/cm(2) (12.57%), and 1 J/cm(2) (-6.10%).

CONCLUSION

Irradiation doses of 0.1 J/cm(2) and 0.5 J/cm(2) led to statistically significant increases in enzyme activity in comparison to the control. The similar curves of the effects of temperature and pH on enzymatic activity observed in this study suggest that laser irradiation also possess an optimum dose to modulate the enzymatic activity. That is, enzymes have an optimum laser dose (or range) at which their activity is maximal, whereas at higher or lower doses activity decreases.

Photo-infrared pulsed bio-modulation (PIPBM): a novel mechanism for the enhancement of physiologically reparative responses

OBJECTIVE

The present manuscript describes the non-invasive, long-range, energy transport of a singular infrared pulsed laser device (IPLD) and the upstream components of the original action mechanism, designated photo-infrared pulsed bio-modulation (PIPBM).

BACKGROUND DATA

Major strides have been taken in recent years towards scientifically acceptable clinical applications of low-energy lasers. Nevertheless, challenges still abound. For instance, the range of potential target tissues for laser therapy in medicine has been, until now, limited by the optical penetration of the beam or to sites accessible by fiberoptics. In addition, much needs to be learned about the action mechanisms of pulsed lasers, which can induce unique biological effects.

METHODS

We present a review of the IPLD laser technology and the PIPBM mechanism.

RESULTS

The studies reviewed suggest that the PIPBM enhances physiologically reparative processes in a non-toxic and selective manner through the activation and modulation of chaotic dynamics in water. These, in turn, lead not only to local, but also long-distance (systemic) effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Though additional studies are necessary to fully explore the biological effects of the PIPBM induced by the IPLD, this mechanism may have multiple potential applications in medicine that are the subject of active current and future investigations.

Microdensitometry of T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images from patients with advanced neoplasias in a phase I clinical trial of an infrared pulsed laser device (IPLD)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine whether an infrared pulsed laser device (IPLD)-induced pathophysiologic changes could be identified before measurable modifications in tumor volume.

STUDY DESIGN/PATIENTS AND METHODS

Pre-and post-IPLD treatment magnetic resonance (MR) images of tumor heterogeneities and peritumoral tissues were digitized and a linear transformation was performed to convert images to 256 intensity levels. Data were analyzed by using the Student's t-test and the Kolmogorov-Sminov test (alpha = 0.05).

RESULTS

The post-treatment mean intensity values of tumor heterogeneities increased significantly (P < 0.001) for all of the seven patients (n = 7) evaluated. For peritumoral tissues, a significant increase (P < 0.001) was measured in four patients (n = 4). The Kolmogorov-Sminov test showed significant values for the tumor tissue of six (n = 6) patients.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study of early evidence of anti-cancer activity of a novel IPLD showing a significant increase in the water content of tumor heterogeneities before measurable changes in tumor volume.