Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common, chronic progressive, neurodegenerative disorder slowly resulting in dementia. Its etiology and pathogenesis is complex, with many genetic and environmental risk factors including stress and insulin resistance.
Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease
The main morbid hallmarks in Alzheimer’s disease have long been recognized as extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intraneuronal hyperphosphorylated tau protein, which are the main contributors to the development of pathology.
How to Manage Alzheimer’s disease?
Photobiomodulation (PBM) describes the therapeutic use of red or near-infrared light (Low Level Laser Therapy LLLT) to stimulate healing, relieve pain and inflammation, and prevent tissue from dying. PBM has been applied for a diverse range of brain disorders, frequently applied in a non-invasive manner, that is by shining light on the head.
Research has demonstrated that:
Alzheimer’s Disease
Transcranial PBM can enhance ATP biosynthesis, regulate mitochondrial homeostasis, and facilitate neurogenesis and/or neuroplasticity [1].
In addition, the clinical studies found that LLLT could improve cognition and decrease depression, anxiety, headache and insomnia in patients with chronic traumatic brain injury [2,3,4].
Several clinical studies have demonstrated its value in raising neurometabolic energy levels that can improve cerebral hemodynamics and cognitive abilities in humans [5].
LLLT can decelerate neurodegenerative disease progression and reduce amyloid β levels in the cortex [6].
References
- Nizamutdinov D, Qi X, Berman MH, Dougal G, Dayawansa S, Wu E, Yi SS, Set. al. Transcranial Near Infrared Light Stimulations Improve Cognition in Patients with Dementia. Aging Dis. 2021 Jul 1;12(4):954-963.
- Morries LD, Cassano P, Henderson TA. Treatments for traumatic brain injury with emphasis on transcranial near-infrared laser phototherapy. Neuropsychiatr. Dis. Treat 11(1), 2159-2175 (2015).
- Henderson TA, Morries LD. SPECT perfusion imaging demonstrates improvement of traumatic brain injury with transcranial near-infrared laser phototherapy. Adv. Mind. Body. Med 29(4), 27-33 (2015).
- Hamblin MR. Photobiomodulation for traumatic brain injury and stroke. J. Neuro. Res In press (2017).
- Jack C. de la Torre, Treating cognitive impairment with transcranial low level laser therapy, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology,
Vol.168, 2017, 149-155. - Stepanov, Y.V., Golovynska, I., Zhang, R. et al. Near-infrared light reduces β-amyloid-stimulated microglial toxicity and enhances survival of neurons: mechanisms of light therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. Alz Res Therapy 14, 84 (2022).