Do you suffer from an inability to focus, short and long term memory loss, visual disturbances, and / or depression? Have you been diagnosed with a concussion?
Then we may be able to help you……….. read on.
Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) is also known as photobiomodulation (PBM).
Wikipedia states that many different cultures practiced PBM, in the form of heliotherapy, (taking in the sun’s rays), including people of Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Rome. Inca, Assyrian and early German settlers also worshipped the sun as a health-bringing deity. Indian medical literature dating to 1500 BCE describes a treatment combining herbs with natural sunlight to treat non- pigmented skin areas. Early Buddhist literature ancient Chinese documents make similar references.
Photobiomodulation (PBM) describes the use of red or near-infrared light to stimulate, heal, regenerate, and protect tissue that has either been injured, is degenerating, or else is at risk of dying. One of the organ systems of the human body that is most necessary to life, and whose optimum functioning is most worried about by humankind in general, is the brain.
The brain suffers from many different disorders that can be classified into three broad groupings:
- traumatic events (stroke, traumatic brain injury, and global ischemia)
- degenerative diseases (dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s)
- psychiatric disorders (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder).
There is evidence that all these seemingly diverse conditions can be beneficially affected by applying light to the head.
There is even the possibility that PBM could be used for cognitive enhancement in normal healthy people. In this transcranial PBM (tPBM) application, near-infrared (NIR) light is often applied to the forehead because of the better penetration.
Shining light on the head: Photobiomodulation for brain disorders by Ass Prof Michael R. Hamblin). For the full article see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5066074.
MRI, PET and EEG scans may not reveal any obvious abnormalities because macroscopic changes in the brain do not always accompany the symptoms of concussion. (1)
Many patients with neurological conditions seek alternative therapies because their condition has become chronic, and conventional therapies do not provide full relief. (2)
Many neurologic disorders affect the Default Mode Network (DMN) of the brain and therefore, a potent treatment for neurologic disorders may involve methodology that affects the DMN. (3)
For over a decade transcranial PBM has produced beneficial neurological effects in animal and human experiments.
Additionally, low-level photonic energy has been found to be safe for humans in the stroke studies, without the side effects often associated with medications.
Unlike the possible adverse side effects of prescription medication, transcranial PBM has no reported adverse effects or events that can be directly attributed to laser or light therapy.
The high benefit to risk ratio of transcranial PBM has been clearly demonstrated and will hopefully be better and more widely accepted by medical professionals in the near future.
There is now an accumulation of data from published studies on trans cranial PBM, and to view this, go to the Vielight website.
Researchers at University of Sydney have shown that exposing mice to ‘low level light therapy’ (or ‘photobiomodulation’) reduced the levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in their brains. This finding was published in the Journal Alzheimer’s research and therapy.
STATISTICS
Key facts and statistics 2017
Updated February 2017
Australian statistics
- There are more than 413,106 Australians living with dementia (1)
- Of the people currently living with dementia 55% (228,238) are female and 45% (184,868) are male (1)
- By 2025 the number of people with dementia is expected to increase to
536,164 (1) - Without a medical breakthrough, the number of people with dementia is
expected to reach 1,100,890 by 2056 (1) - Currently around 244 people each day are joining the population with dementia. The number of new cases of dementia will increase to 318 people per day by 2025 and over 650 people per day by 2056 (1)
- There are an estimated 25,938 people with younger onset dementia, expected to rise to 29,375 by 2025 and 42,252 by 2056 (1)
- Dementia is the second leading cause of death of Australians 2 contributing to 5.4% of all deaths in males and 10.6% of all deaths in females each year (1)
- The lifestyle risk and protective factors for dementia offer very real opportunities for prevention programs that reduce the number of Australians developing dementia each year
- Reducing the annual age-sex specific incidence rates for dementia in people aged 65 years and above by 5% would lead to a 7% reduction in the number of people with dementia in the population by 2025 and a 24% reduction by 2056. As a result, there would be nearly 36,400 fewer people with dementia in 2025 and almost 261,000 fewer people by 2056 compared with the current projections of the prevalence of dementia over the next 40 years. This could save more than $120 billion by 2056 (1)
(1). The National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling NATSEM (2016) Economic Cost of Dementia in Australia 2016-2056
(2). Australian Bureau of Statistics (2015) Causes of Death, Australia, 2015 (cat. no. 3303.0)2
Also read
- Giuliani A, Lorenzini L, Gallamini M, Masella A, Giardino L, Calza L (2009). Low infrared laser light irradiation on cultured neural cells: effects on mitochondria and cell viability after oxidative stress. BMC Com Alt Med. 9:8.
- Wells Re, Phillips RS, Schacter SC, McCarthy EP (2010). Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use among U.S. Adults with Common Neurological Conditions. J Neurol. 257(11): 1822–1831.