Lasers show promise for stroke victims

[PADemD]

"Lapchak, who has been studying non-invasive therapies for stroke patients for 10 years, and other researchers say they believe the process involves the absorption of light in mitochondria, the power centers of cells, which stimulates cells to regenerate. For stroke victims, the theory is that areas of the brain damaged by the stroke can be healed by the new cells stimulated by light."

http://www.mcall.com/health/mc-easton-laser-stroke-new-20111204,0,2083457.story

[MADem]

1. Wow....this sounds so promising! +1

Virtually unknown," is how Dr. Paul A. Lapchak, director of translational research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles characterizes the medical community's knowledge about it.

....It's a process similar to photosynthesis in plants, experts say, and it's also why low-level laser light, which has been FDA- approved for use on muscle and tissue healing, also may work on the brain.

Researchers also are looking into whether light could benefit victims of traumatic brain injury and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, Lapchak said.

[inademv]

2. sounds super sketchy

I couldn't find any links in the story and CBA to go digging beyond what was linked directly. So basically the idea is that mitochondria are absorbing photons somehow and this is causing cellular repair in damaged areas of the brain? I'm not a neurologist but it seems that assuming cellular organelles which are not particularly light sensitive are absorbing light and thus fixing local tissues is just a bit more than a leap of logic.

[PADemD]

3. Books on the Topic of Laser Therapy

Healing Light: The Miracle of Cold Laser Therapy
http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Light-Miracle-Laser-Therapy/dp/1933889020

Light and Laser Therapy: Clinical Procedures
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Laser-Therapy-Clinical-Procedures/dp/1424302331/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c

Therapeutic Lasers: Theory and Practice, USA Version
http://www.amazon.com/Therapeutic-Lasers-Theory-Practice-Version/dp/0443043930/ref=pd_sim_b_4

The Laser Therapy Handbook: A Guide for Research Scientists, Doctors, Dentists, Veterinarians and Other Interested Parties Within the Medical Field.
http://www.amazon.com/Laser-Therapy-Handbook-Scientists-Veterinarians/dp/9163113457/ref=pd_sim_b_5

[inademv]

4. Peer reviewed papers would be more convincing n/t

[Celebration]

5. abstracts of published papers

on low level laser therapy

http://www.laser.nu/lllt/science.htm

Usually in this country it is used for things like wound healing. When my father in law had a huge bedsore from being in the hospital, they thought that he might lose his foot (he had been pushing on the bed or something). I used LLLT on it and he was fine in about three weeks. The hospice people were pretty amazed. This was years ago and lots of people still don't know about this.

Edited to add--it hasn't been updated in the last couple of years

Here is an article about use in neural rehabilitation

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3065857/?tool=pubmed