Red light therapy (RLT) is a rapidly growing form of treatment to improve wrinkles, acne, muscle soreness, aging, and others. This form of therapy is a practice that uses low levels of red light to achieve desired outcomes, primarily skin appearance. Red light therapy was first used at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to aid plant growth and help heal astronaut wounds. Interestingly, this form of light therapy is already used in photodynamic therapy in which low-level red lasers activate drugs injected into a site of infection. Photodynamic therapy is primarily used as a cancer treatment that destroys tumor cells through photosensitizer drugs. However, other uses include treatment of various skin conditions including psoriasis and warts.
Red light therapy works by targeting the mitochondria in cells to generate more energy. Different wavelengths are absorbed by cells which stimulate the cell function. Through an increase in mitochondrial function, cells have the ability to repair sources of injury at a faster rate. This is done by increasing cell growth which enhances cell rejuvenation. It is unclear how RLT works to improve health, but scientists believe it helps generate collagen and fibroblast production, and reduce inflammation. Scientists and physicians are still working to understand RLT more and better apply it to specific conditions.
A recent study in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, by Dr. Mathew Neal and others, discovered that humans exposed to long-wavelength RLT had lower rates of blood clots related to heart attacks. Neal is the Professor of Surgery and Watson Fund in Surgery at the University at Pittsburgh. He is also the Director of Emergency General Surgery and Co-Director of the Pittsburgh Trauma and Transfusion Medicine Research Center. Neal’s work focuses on trauma-induced coagulopathy, sepsis, and transfusion research. In the article, Neal and his group focus on the ability of RLT to improve blood circulation.
Researchers first treated mice for 12-hours with red, blue, or white light. They then looked at blood clots within those mice and found significantly less blood clots in mice treated with the red light. The team translated this to the clinic and ran a clinical trial on patients and found similar effects. In addition, the team analyzed data from over 10,000 patients that received cataract surgery and were either treated post-surgery with conventional lenses that include the entire spectrum of light or blue light filtering lenses. They found that since the blue filtering light lenses had 50% less blue light, those were the patients that had lower risk of blood clots opposed to patients who received the conventional lenses.
Although researchers suspect light wavelength benefit may involve optic pathways, it is still unclear. Neal highlights that understanding the mechanism behind reduced blood clots is the next step. However, the significant benefit of using RLT provides patients with improved therapy for various diseases and medical conditions. This discovery can lead to inexpensive therapy and benefit billions of patients. It can also be used as a preventative therapy to improve blood flow and reduce cardiovascular disease.
Study, Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Mathew Neal, University at Pittsburgh
