“…Traditionally, photobiomodulation therapy treatments are given over a range of times varying between 5 min and 1 h, once or twice a day [ 28 ]. In prior experiments, it was ascertained that twice daily irradiations were most effective in treating the inflammatory response [ 36 ]. However, the 10-min duration time was obtained empirically, and longer or shorter exposure times were not tested.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Incandescent infrared light exposure was also effective at both low (6 W/m 2 ) and high (46 W/m 2 ) intensity. However, we subsequently determined that infrared bulbs cannot be used for treatment in human patients because the heat generated at the skin surface was at 72°C in the intensity range (over 1000 W/m 2 ) required to penetrate the chest cavity [ 36 ] and therefore would cause serious burns. Figure 4.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…We have used a wavelength at 720–750 nm in our study as this provides penetration of tissue without engendering heat and has optimal effects on TLR4-dependent inflammation. As an approximation of light penetration, we have measured the passage of light through pork rib and 3 cm steak sections, and determined that a powerful enough LED to achieve a light intensity of at least 1000 W/m 2 at the skin surface is required for light penetration of 1–2 W/m 2 into the chest and lungs [ 36 ]. We have interchangeably used commercial high output 720 nm LED bulbs and floodlights in these studies (see methods), which do not unduly heat the skin surface (increase in 5°C after 10 m exposure) and also achieve an output intensity that would be sufficient to penetrate the chest cavity.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The qPCR analysis was performed as described [ 36 ]. After exposure to each treatment condition, the total RNA was extracted from HEK-TLR4 cells by Total RNA Miniprep Kit (New England Biolabs), according to the manufacturer’s instructions.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Importantly, there are no known harmful side effects as such illuminations do not cause tissue damage. In further support of photobiomodulation therapy in treating COVID-19, it was recently shown that infrared light exposure has been effective in reducing the inflammatory response in a variant of human HEK293 cell cultures [ 36 ], and a number of case reports involving application of photobiomodulation therapy on COVID-19 patients [ 37–39 ].…”
The leading cause of mortality from COVID-19 infection is respiratory distress due to an exaggerated host immune response, resulting in hyper-inflammation and ensuing cytokine storms in the lungs. Current drug-based therapies are of limited efficacy, costly, and have potential negative side effects. By contrast, photobiomodulation therapy, which involves periodic brief exposure to red or infrared light, is a noninvasive, safe, and affordable method that is currently being used to treat a wide range of diseases with underlying inflammatory conditions. Here, we show that exposure to two 10-min, high-intensity periods per day of infrared light causes a marked reduction in the TLR-4 dependent inflammatory response pathway, which has been implicated in the onset of cytokine storms in COVID-19 patients. Infrared light exposure resulted in a significant decline in NFkB and AP1 activity as measured by the reporter gene assay; decreased expression of inflammatory marker genes IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha, INF-alpha, and INF-beta as determined by qPCR gene expression assay; and an 80% decline in secreted cytokine IL6 as measured by ELISA assay in cultured human cells. All of these changes occurred after only 48 hours of treatment. We suggest that an underlying cellular mechanism involving modulation of ROS may downregulate the host immune response after Infrared Light exposure, leading to decrease in inflammation. We further discuss technical considerations involving light sources and exposure conditions to put these observations into potential clinical use to treat COVID-19 induced mortality.
“…Traditionally, photobiomodulation therapy treatments are given over a range of times varying between 5 min and 1 h, once or twice a day [ 28 ]. In prior experiments, it was ascertained that twice daily irradiations were most effective in treating the inflammatory response [ 36 ]. However, the 10-min duration time was obtained empirically, and longer or shorter exposure times were not tested.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Incandescent infrared light exposure was also effective at both low (6 W/m 2 ) and high (46 W/m 2 ) intensity. However, we subsequently determined that infrared bulbs cannot be used for treatment in human patients because the heat generated at the skin surface was at 72°C in the intensity range (over 1000 W/m 2 ) required to penetrate the chest cavity [ 36 ] and therefore would cause serious burns. Figure 4.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…We have used a wavelength at 720–750 nm in our study as this provides penetration of tissue without engendering heat and has optimal effects on TLR4-dependent inflammation. As an approximation of light penetration, we have measured the passage of light through pork rib and 3 cm steak sections, and determined that a powerful enough LED to achieve a light intensity of at least 1000 W/m 2 at the skin surface is required for light penetration of 1–2 W/m 2 into the chest and lungs [ 36 ]. We have interchangeably used commercial high output 720 nm LED bulbs and floodlights in these studies (see methods), which do not unduly heat the skin surface (increase in 5°C after 10 m exposure) and also achieve an output intensity that would be sufficient to penetrate the chest cavity.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The qPCR analysis was performed as described [ 36 ]. After exposure to each treatment condition, the total RNA was extracted from HEK-TLR4 cells by Total RNA Miniprep Kit (New England Biolabs), according to the manufacturer’s instructions.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Importantly, there are no known harmful side effects as such illuminations do not cause tissue damage. In further support of photobiomodulation therapy in treating COVID-19, it was recently shown that infrared light exposure has been effective in reducing the inflammatory response in a variant of human HEK293 cell cultures [ 36 ], and a number of case reports involving application of photobiomodulation therapy on COVID-19 patients [ 37–39 ].…”
The leading cause of mortality from COVID-19 infection is respiratory distress due to an exaggerated host immune response, resulting in hyper-inflammation and ensuing cytokine storms in the lungs. Current drug-based therapies are of limited efficacy, costly, and have potential negative side effects. By contrast, photobiomodulation therapy, which involves periodic brief exposure to red or infrared light, is a noninvasive, safe, and affordable method that is currently being used to treat a wide range of diseases with underlying inflammatory conditions. Here, we show that exposure to two 10-min, high-intensity periods per day of infrared light causes a marked reduction in the TLR-4 dependent inflammatory response pathway, which has been implicated in the onset of cytokine storms in COVID-19 patients. Infrared light exposure resulted in a significant decline in NFkB and AP1 activity as measured by the reporter gene assay; decreased expression of inflammatory marker genes IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha, INF-alpha, and INF-beta as determined by qPCR gene expression assay; and an 80% decline in secreted cytokine IL6 as measured by ELISA assay in cultured human cells. All of these changes occurred after only 48 hours of treatment. We suggest that an underlying cellular mechanism involving modulation of ROS may downregulate the host immune response after Infrared Light exposure, leading to decrease in inflammation. We further discuss technical considerations involving light sources and exposure conditions to put these observations into potential clinical use to treat COVID-19 induced mortality.
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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