Laser therapy: A review of its mechanism of action and potential medical applications

✍ Scribed by D.B. Tata; R.W. Waynant

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 886 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1863-8880
• DOI: 10.1002/lpor.200900032

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Civilizations in antiquity have endeavored to champion the use of light to treat illnesses in the human body. Although laser light has unique applications in medicine, its mechanism of action for low intensity exposures on cells, tissues, and the body continues to be controversial after nearly 50 years of investigations. This paper presents evidence for visible red and near infrared light to induce (indirect) generation of hydrogen peroxide as an important chemical messenger behind the stimulatory and inhibitory responses observed to low intensity light exposures. It is hypothesized that other ionizing or non‐ionizing modalities can either directly or indirectly induce / or generate H~2~O~2~ in an aqueous environment and could also bring about similar stimulatory or inhibitory bio‐effects. One salient parameter which governs the bio‐response is the level of generated H~2~O~2~. The authors discuss the mechanism which enables a small amount of hydrogen peroxide generated by light to produce beneficial effects.