Illinois [US], A study shows that low-level light therapy may impact the healing process in the brains of individuals who have experienced severe brain injuries. The study's findings were published in Radiology, published by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The ability of different wavelengths of light to heal wounds has been researched for several years. Low-level light therapy was used by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) on 38 patients who had experienced moderate traumatic brain injury, which is defined as a head injury that is so severe that Affects cognition and/or is detectable on brain scans. Within 72 hours of injury, patients were given light therapy using a near-infrared light-emitting helmet "The skull is quite transparent to near-infrared light," says study co-author Rajeev Gupta, M.D. , Ph.D., said. Department of Radiology at MGH."Once you put the helmet on, your entire brain is bathed in this light. The researchers used an imaging technique called functional MRI to measure the effects of light therapy. They measured the brain's resting-state functional connectivity, the brain Focusing on the communication between the regions that occur when a person is resting and not engaged in a specific task, the researchers compared MRI results during three recovery phases: one after the injury A week later, a subacute phase, two to three weeks after injury, and a late-subacute phase, three months after injury, 21 of the 38 patients in the trial did not receive light therapy while wearing the helmet. Controls were used to reduce bias due to patient characteristics and avoid potential placebo effects. People receiving low-level light therapy had larger brain areas during the acute-to-subacute recovery phase than control participants. showed greater variation in resting-state connectivity in seven pairs of."There was an increase in connectivity in those receiving light treatment, primarily within the first two weeks," said study co-author Nathaniel Mercaldo, Ph.D., statistician at MGH. "We were unable to detect long-term differences in connectivity between the two treatment groups, so although the treatment does not initially increase brain connectivity, its long-term effects have yet to be determined. The effects of light therapy The exact mechanism has yet to be determined. Previous research points to the alteration of an enzyme in the cell's mitochondria (often called the "powerhouse" of the cell), Dr. Gupta said, that leads to the production of adenosine triphosphate. More molecules are produced that store and transfer energy in cells. Light therapy has also been linked to blood vessel dilation and anti-inflammatory effects."There is still much work to be done to understand the exact physiological mechanisms behind these effects," said the study's co-author. Suk-Tak Chan, Ph.D., biomedical engineer at MGH, said while connectivity increased for patients treated with light therapy during the acute to subacute phases, there was no evidence of differences in clinic outcomes between treated and control participants. Additional studies with larger groups of patients and correlative imaging over three months may help determine the therapeutic role of light in traumatic brain injury. Researchers hope to expand the role of light therapy as more study results emerge. The 810-nanometer-wavelength light used in the study has already been employed in a variety of medical applications.It is safe, easy to administer and does not require surgery or medications. The portability of the helmet means it can be distributed in settings outside the hospital. According to Dr. Gupta, it may also have applications in treating many other neurological conditions. “There are a lot of disorders of connectivity, mostly in psychiatry, where this intervention may have a role,” he said. ,
, depression, autism: these are promising areas for light therapy."