Major Advances In Light Therapy Applications

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.