Near-Infrared Laser Phototherapy for Brain Injury published by Dove Medical Press

Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment has published the review "Treatments for traumatic brain injury with emphasis on transcranial near-infrared laser phototherapy".

As corresponding author Dr Theodore Henderson says "These findings herald a medical breakthrough. Traumatic brain injury has been largely untreatable - with mostly palliative treatments only - and now we have shown real clinical and neurophysiological improvements with multi-watt infrared light therapy. Unlike milliwatt and LED infrared light treatments, which we show in a companion paper to be ineffective in penetrating into the brain, our treatment has lasting benefits. Our patients have remained free of symptoms for over four years. It's a real game-changer."

The first author Dr Larry Morries continues "Thanks to those who pioneered the treatment of neuro-degenerative conditions, we have picked up their torch and taken it to another level. We have established a ‘proof of concept' and want to continue with our RCT's. As clinicians, we want to help those in need and are eager to establish treatment centers for those with afflictions such as TBI, Depression, PTSD, Anxiety and others. We will join other researchers in exploring NIR for the treatment of other neuro-degenerative and neuro-muscular illnesses. May we all succeed in our efforts. It really strikes home - thinking of our returning veterans from wartime conflicts, First Responders, Young Athletes, and the Aging Population. They deserve an effective non-invasive treatment. We will continue to literally, ‘Give People-Back Their Lives'. "

As Dr Roger Pinder, Editor-in-Chief, explains "Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health concern affecting both military personnel and civilians. Common among victims of traffic and sports accidents, its impact was most dramatically illustrated by the tragic case of the Formula 1 racing driver Michael Schumacher who remains totally incapacitated almost 2 years after he fell while skiing. Current treatments vary from pharmacological through behavioural and nutritional, but have very limited efficacy. Chronic, mild-to-moderate TBI remains a significant drain on health and human resources.
An emerging treatment is phototherapy with near-infrared light (NILT), which has shown benefit in animal models of stroke, spinal cord injury and TBI as well as in some case of human stroke and TBI. For the first time, we have reports on the use of high-power NILT lasers in 10 patients with chronic TBI. Symptomatic improvement in a variety of neuropsychiatric deficits were observed. Although the precise mechanism by which high-wattage NILT achieves clinical benefit has still to be elucidated, the treatment is sufficiently promising to justify larger controlled trials in TBI and in its associated neuropsychiatric disorders like depression and cognitive dysfunction."

Updated 3 September 2015