BACKGROUNDLaser therapy is a low cost, non-invasive procedure with good healing results. Doubts exist as to whether laser therapy action on microorganisms can justify research aimed at investigating its possible effects on bacteria-infected wounds. OBJECTIVETo assess the effect of low intensity laser on the rate of bacterial contamination in infected wounds in the skin of rats. METHODSAn experimental study using 56 male Wistar rats. The animals were randomly divided into eight groups of seven each. Those in the "infected" groups were infected by Staphylococcus aureus MRSA in the dorsal region. Red laser diode (AlGaInP) 658nm, 5J/cm2 was used to treat the animals in the "treated" groups in scan for 3 consecutive days. Samples were drawn before inoculating bacteria and following laser treatment. For statistical analysis we used the nonparametric Wilcoxon (paired data) method with a significance level of p <0.05. RESULTSThe statistical analysis of median values showed that the groups submitted to laser treatment had low bacterial proliferation. CONCLUSIONThe laser (AlGaInP), with a dose of 5J/cm2 in both intact skin and in wounds of rats infected with Staphylococcus aureus MRSA, is shown to reduce bacterial proliferation.

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Background: Although there are studies on blood pressure (BP) and autonomic cardiac control (ACC) impairments caused by ergogenic aids, research has scarcely addressed this analysis during sleep. This study analyzed BP and ACC during sleep and wake periods in three groups of resistance training (RT) practitioners: ergogenic aid non-users, thermogenic supplement (TS) self-users, and anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) self-users. Methods: RT practitioners were selected for the Control Group (CG; n = 15), TS self-users Group (TSG; n = 15), and AAS self-users Group (AASG; n = 15). All individuals underwent cardiovascular Holter monitoring (BP, ACC) during sleep and wake periods. Results: The maximum systolic BP (SBP) during sleep was higher in AASG (p < 0.01) than CG (p < 0.001). CG had lower mean diastolic BP (DBP) than TSG (p < 0.01) and lower mean SBP (p = 0.009) than the other groups. Additionally, CG had higher values (p < 0.01) than TSG and AASG for SDNN and pNN50 during sleep. HF, LF, and LF/HF ratio values during sleep were statistically different in CG (p < 0.001) from the other groups. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that high doses of TS and AAS can impair cardiovascular parameters during sleep in RT practitioners who take ergogenic aids.