Treatment Efficacy of Photobiomodulation for Moderate and Advanced Dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease: Case Studies

Abstract

Extensive research is ongoing in the use of Photobiomodulation (PBM, often referred to as low-level or cold laser therapy) to treat Alzheimer's disease as well as other debilitating diseases. The following case studies further confirm that PBM could be a breakthrough approach to limit the progression of insidious diseases. We present four cases, two with mild to moderate dementia and two with more advanced symptoms. Several publications have shown beneficial results, however, several weeks of daily treatments were necessary. The cases described here suggest that moderate and advanced dementia cases can be significantly improved with three or four eight-minute treatments over a 5 -7-day period when using super-pulsing technology on Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule (Figure 1). Gives a brief visual explanation of super-pulsing versus continuous wave technology.

Phototherapy of Alzheimer’s Disease: Photostimulation of Brain Lymphatics during Sleep: A Systematic Review

“…The clinical studies of the PBM effects for AD are still limited [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 19 , 85 ]. Table 2 summarizes the results of recent clinical studies on the therapeutic effects of PBM in patients with AD.…”

“…Typically, in experimental and clinical studies, PBM is performed in awake subjects [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 ]. In our recent review, we suggested that there are no commercial devices for simultaneous PBM and sleep monitoring, which significantly limits the clinical investigations [ 36 ].…”

“…suggested that transcranial PBM (850 nm) on the right prefrontal cortex changed the brainwaves (decreases a delta power) and had a beneficial effect on cognitive performance as well as improving attention and alertness in 30 healthy young adult participants [84]. The clinical studies of the PBM effects for AD are still limited [9][10][11]19,85]. Table 2 summarizes the results of recent clinical studies on the therapeutic effects of PBM in patients with AD.…”

“…Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a non-pharmacological therapeutic approach based on the use of red or near-infrared light that has shown very promising results in the treatment of AD in pilot clinical and animal studies [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. PBM has been recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because PBM is a non-invasive method without any major side effects.…”

Promising Strategies to Reduce the SARS-CoV-2 Amyloid Deposition in the Brain and Prevent COVID-19-Exacerbated Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Thus, the development of effective methods for stimulation of MLV functions is highly relevant for medicine. Recently, non-invasive transcranial photobiomodulation (PBM) has been proposed as a novel alternative method for therapy for dementia and AD as well as a promising approach in the improvement of cognitive functions in healthy subjects [ 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 ]. It is believed that the therapeutic effects of PBM are based on reducing neuroinflammation and activation of anti-oxidant systems through the improvement of metabolism and microcirculation of the brain, leading to neuroprotection [ 133 , 138 , 139 , 141 ].…”