The Effectiveness of Photobiomudulation therapy (PBMT) in COVID-19 Infection

Sherafat, Somayeh Jahani; Razaghi, Zahra; Rostami-Nejad, Mohammad; Tavirani, Mostafa Rezaei; Razzaghi, Mohammadreza

doi:10.34172/jlms.2020.s4

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Although small amounts of heat are produced during PBM, the process is photochemical not thermal, invoking biophysical mechanisms offering therapeutic outcomes that thermotherapy cannot. [ 11 ] Reported PBM benefits include reduced tissue inflammation[ 12 ], [ 13 ], [ 14 ] and dyspnea, [ 15 ] improved circulation,[ 16 ] decreased pain[ 17 ] and accelerated recovery. [ 18 ], [ 19 ]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whole‐organ transdermal photobiomodulation (PBM) of COVID‐19: A 50‐patient case study

Williams

Raimondo²,

Cahn

et al. 2021

Journal of Biophotonics

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A nonrandomized 50‐person case study of COVID‐19‐positive patients was conducted employing (for the first time) a regimen of whole‐organ deep‐tissue transdermal dynamic photobiomodulation (PBM) as a primary (or exclusive) therapeutic modality in the treatment of coronavirus. Therapy sessions comprised algorithmically alternating red (650 nm) and near‐infrared (NIR; 850 nm) LEDs with an average irradiance of 11 mW/cm 2 dynamically sequenced at multiple pulse frequencies. Delivered via 3D bendable polymeric pads maintaining orthogonal optical incidence to body contours over 1,000 cm 2 , a single 84‐minute session concurrently delivered 20 kJ to the sinuses and 15 kJ to each lung at skin temperatures below 42°C. Therapeutic outcomes observed include significant reductions in the duration and severity of disease symptoms. Acute conditions including fever, body aches (BA) and respiratory distress comprising paroxysmal coughing; lung congestion, dyspnea and hypoxia; sinus congestion; acute eye inflammation; and extreme malaise were eliminated in 41/50 patients within 4 days of commencing PBM treatments with 50/50 patients fully recovering within 3 weeks with no supplemental oxygen requirements. SpO 2 concentrations improved as much as 9 points (average 2.5 points) across the entire study population. The PBM sessions required to completely resolve COVID‐19 conditions appears monotonically correlated to the time‐to‐treatment (TTTx)—the delay between the onset of a patient's symptoms and commencing PBM therapy. In contrast, acute inflammatory symptoms were resolved within 4 days irrespective of TTTx.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whole‐organ transdermal photobiomodulation (PBM) of COVID‐19: A 50‐patient case study

Williams

Raimondo²,

Cahn

et al. 2021

Journal of Biophotonics

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“…The immune reaction in the infected patient usually causes inflammation and fever. With vasodilation at the site of infection, the lungs accumulate fluid [ 39 ]. This exaggerated immune response is called cytokine storm, which causes Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), fever, multiple organ failure, and death [ 33 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The production of nitric oxide (NO) in the immune system is key to the capabilities and characteristics of immune cells and having cytotoxic and cytoprotective, antiviral, antimicrobial effects, and stimulating and suppressing the immune system. With the blue laser increasing the level of NO, mitochondrial biogenesis in different types of cells and oxygen connection to red blood cells is also increased ( Figure 2 ) [ 5 , 30 , 39 ]. However, the use of lasers in viral mortality is not widespread, but there is evidence that the 405 nm LED light has antiviral activity [ 29 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photobiomodulation Therapy as a Possible New Approach in COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Matos

Buchaim

Pomini

et al. 2021

Life

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COVID-19 is a viral disease characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. Since then, researchers from all over the world have been looking for ways to fight this disease. Many cases of complications arise from insufficient immune responses due to low immunity, with intense release of pro-inflammatory cytokines that can damage the structure of organs such as the lung. Thus, the hypothesis arises that photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) with the use of a low-level laser (LLLT) may be an ally approach to patients with COVID-19 since it is effective for increasing immunity, helping tissue repair, and reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines. This systematic review was performed with the use of PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases with the following keywords: “low-level laser therapy OR photobiomodulation therapy AND COVID-19”. The inclusion criteria were complete articles published from January 2020 to January 2021 in English. The exclusion criteria were other languages, editorials, reviews, brief communications, letters to the editor, comments, conference abstracts, and articles that did not provide the full text. The bibliographic search found 18 articles in the Pubmed/MEDLINE database, 118 articles on the Web of Science, 23 articles on Scopus, and 853 articles on Google Scholar. Ten articles were included for qualitative synthesis, of which four commentary articles discussed the pathogenesis and the effect of PBMT in COVID-19. Two in vitro and lab experiments showed the effect of PBMT on prevention of thrombosis and positive results in wound healing during viral infection, using the intravascular irradiation (ILIB) associated with Phthalomethyl D. Two case reports showed PBMT improved the respiratory indexes, radiological findings, and inflammatory markers in severe COVID-19 patients. One case series reported the clinical improvement after PBMT on 14 acute COVID-19 patients, rehabilitation on 24 patients, and as a preventive treatment on 70 people. One clinical trial of 30 patients with severe COVID-19 who require invasive mechanical ventilation, showed PBMT-static magnetic field was not statistically different from placebo for the length of stay in the Intensive Care Unit, but improved diaphragm muscle function and ventilation and decreased the inflammatory markers. This review suggests that PBMT may have a positive role in treatment of COVID-19. Still, the necessity for more clinical trials remains in this field and there is not sufficient research evidence regarding the effects of PBMT and COVID-19 disease, and there is a large gap.

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“…There have been some recent publications outlining the evidence for the use of PBM treatments for acute COVID-19 complications [17,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. The use of PBM in COVID-19 management was prompted by its efficacy in relieving ARDS [32][33][34][35][36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of either transcranial or whole‐body photobiomodulation treatments improves COVID‐19 brain fog

Bowen

Arany

2023

Journal of Biophotonics

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There is increasing recognition of post-COVID-19 sequelae involving chronic fatigue and brain fog, for which photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy has been utilized. This open-label, pilot, human clinical study examined the efficacy of two PBM devices, for example, a helmet (1070 nm) for transcranial (tPBM) and a light bed (660 and 850 nm) for whole body (wbPBM), over a 4-week period, with 12 treatments for two separate groups (n = 7 per group). Subjects were evaluated with a neuropsychological test battery, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the digit symbol substitution test (DSST), the trail-making tests A and B, the physical reaction time (PRT), and a quantitative electroencephalography system (WAVi), both pre-and post-the treatment series. Each device for PBM delivery was associated with significant improvements in cognitive tests (p < 0.05 and beyond). Changes in WAVi supported the findings. This study outlines the benefits of utilizing PBM therapy (transcranial or whole-body) to help treat long-COVID brain fog.

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The Effectiveness of Photobiomudulation therapy (PBMT) in COVID-19 Infection

Cited by 16 publications

References 54 publications

Whole‐organ transdermal photobiomodulation (PBM) of COVID‐19: A 50‐patient case study

Whole‐organ transdermal photobiomodulation (PBM) of COVID‐19: A 50‐patient case study

Photobiomodulation Therapy as a Possible New Approach in COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Use of either transcranial or whole‐body photobiomodulation treatments improves COVID‐19 brain fog

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