Light promotes regeneration and functional recovery and alters the immune response after spinal cord injury

✍ Scribed by Kimberly R. Byrnes; Ronald W. Waynant; Ilko K. Ilev; Xingjia Wu; Lauren Barna; Kimberly Smith; Reed Heckert; Heather Gerst; Juanita J. Anders

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 513 KB
• Volume: 36
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0196-8092
• DOI: 10.1002/lsm.20143

✦ Synopsis

Background and Objectives: Photobiomodulation (PBM) has been proposed as a potential therapy for spinal cord injury (SCI). We aimed to demonstrate that 810 nm light can penetrate deep into the body and promote neuronal regeneration and functional recovery. Study Design/Materials and Methods: Adult rats underwent a T9 dorsal hemisection, followed by treatment with an 810 nm, 150 mW diode laser (dosage ¼ 1,589 J/cm 2 ). Axonal regeneration and functional recovery were assessed using single and double label tract tracing and various locomotor tasks. The immune response within the spinal cord was also assessed. Results: PBM, with 6% power penetration to the spinal cord depth, significantly increased axonal number and distance of regrowth (P < 0.001). PBM also returned aspects of function to baseline levels and significantly suppressed immune cell activation and cytokine/chemokine expression.

Conclusion:

Our results demonstrate that light, delivered transcutaneously, improves recovery after injury and suggests that light will be a useful treatment for human SCI.