Red and near infrared lights – can they help degenerative neurological diseases?
Twelve people in South Australia volunteered to participate in a study on the effect of near-infrared light on people with Parkinson’s disease.
Dr Liebert presented the findings of a preliminary analysis of the data to the study participants, their families and members of Parkinson’s South Australia on Tuesday 9 September 2019.
Continue reading “South Australian PD study – early results”I’ve had a few queries about the use of laser lights. I can understand the allure of a laser, as its coherent light with such total focus is pretty impressive.
LED lights used to be very expensive. In the last decade the costs of LEDs have really dropped, and we can now buy them easily and inexpensively. LED lights are not coherent like lasers – the light from the average LED lights scatters and shines over a bigger area.
Question: For lights on the head, are lasers better than LEDs?
Answer: Nope.
Both have their place, but the previous dominance of laser lights is being whittled away by practicality and safety of LED lights.
For trans-cranial use, you want the red lights to scatter – you want coverage of the lights over the head. You also want to use the lights daily, safely and at home.
Lasers are a pain to use, they come with safety issues and they are not suitable for home use.
LEDs are the best.
Explains LLLT, Photobiomodulation and PBM.
You will have come across the various names for the use of red and near infrared lights. Michael Hamblin, one of the lead researchers in the area, has summarised the terminology changes beautifully in a recent article called (somewhat dauntingly) Mechanisms and Mitochondrial Redox Signalling in Photobiomodulation. Click here to read the full article.
Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)
Almost 50 years ago in Hungary, Endre Mester found by accident, that a low power red laser noticeably improved wound healing.
It was initially thought that light delivered by a laser was the key factor in the wound healing, and so the term Low Level Laser Therapy, abbreviated to LLLT, was developed.
If you put “LLLT” in your favourite search engine, you’ll find a lot of references will pop up.
Red lights on the brain 