Therapy with anti-inflammation; wound-healing; vascular health-improving ; immunomodulating; anti-cancer; neuroprotective; nerve-growing; and recovery-boosting properties.
Use light to heal.
A THREAD 🧵
The use of light in treating illness has been reported since Ancient Greece; initially called “heliotherapy,” it involved leaving the sick exposed to the sun to cure their ailments.
In the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, the use of light as therapy, termed "phototherapy," was pointed out as one of the most significant factors in reducing mortality.
Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), but other forms of light exist on opposite ends of this spectrum.
Infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) light are forms of light that our eyes cannot perceive. IR includes wavelengths between 780 nm and 1000 μm. IR can be further split into near-infrared, mid-infrared, and far-infrared, while UV light has a wavelength of 10 nm to 400 nm.
UV light is used to treat various skin disorders and is the primary type of light that helps us form vitamin D.
Though vitamin D from sunlight has been shown to be associated with various health benefits, a vast body of studies has failed to confirm any major health benefits from vitamin D supplementation.
This may be because red and near-infrared light, both of which are present in sunlight, could explain the associations between sunlight exposure and better health status.
Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy is “a form of light therapy that utilizes non-ionizing forms of light sources, including lasers, LEDs, and broadband light, in the visible and infrared spectrum.”
It is now understood that PRM works by the absorption of energy by molecules that accept the light called chromophores.
There are two main types of chromophores: cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) and intracellular water.
The theory goes that CCO enzyme activity may be inhibited by nitric oxide (NO), especially in hypoxic or damaged cells, and that the dissociation of NO by IR light causes improved energy production by the mitochondria.
There is a brief increase in ROS produced in the mitochondria when they absorb light delivered during PBM.
It is thought that this short burst of ROS triggers mitochondrial signalling pathways, leading to cell-protective, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic effects in the cells.
We also possess light-sensitive ion channels, which are types of receptors that are activated by light. These have been mainly studied in algae and insects.
When IR light gets absorbed by the skin, it activates these molecules and receptors, stimulating various biological processes.
This facilitates events such as mitochondrial respiration, calcium transport—which results in more significant cell proliferation—repairing, and regenerating tissues.
NO is also released, helping to increase blood flow and activating beneficial cellular pathways downstream.
Via these biological processes and more, PBM has been shown to assist in the recovery of wounds, nerve, bone, respiratory tract disease and other injuries.
Near-IR can also penetrate the head and reach the brain.
The effects of this were possibly illustrated in one study of a 23-year-old professional hockey player with a history of concussions who treated himself at home with commercially available, low-risk PBM device.
The device used LEDs to emit 810-nm light pulsing at 10 or 40 Hz.
After 8 weeks of PBM treatments, increased brain volumes, better functional connectivity, increased blood flow around the brain, and improvements on neuropsychological test scores were observed.
Though there was no placebo control in this study, results look promising for those with traumatic brain injury.
In a small placebo-controlled clinical trial with dementia patients, PBM with a near-IR helmet showed that light therapy could improve memory, visual attention, task switching, brain wave patterns, the ability to learn, and mitochondrial enhancement.
Other than wearing light-emitting helmets, IR saunas are another modality that has shown benefit. It has been demonstrated that IR sauna therapy improves vascular endothelial dysfunction in hamsters with experimental cardiomyopathy.
Before you scroll further, if you'd like to know more about IR light, saunas, sunlight and more, then you can find all the information I post on my threads, all in one place, the book.
In vitro and lab experiments have shown the effect of PBM on the prevention of thrombosis and positive results in wound healing during viral infection.
In a study of 52 mild-to-moderately ill COVID-19, hospitalised patients, PBM twice daily for three days, along with classical approved treatment, was shown to decrease inflammatory markers IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α.
And though more human trials are needed, case reports have shown PBM to improve the respiratory indices, radiological findings, and inflammatory markers in severe COVID-19 patients.
In one trial of 300 patients with COVID-19, methylene blue and 660 nm red light was applied in the oral and nasal cavity, compared to placebos, and showed to lead to significant decreases in morbidity and reduced mortality rates.
As we are dealing with energy in the form of light, dosing is not as straightforward as when ingesting a supplement.
Plus light comes in various forms and via various devices, and "doses" depend on power density and time.
In the RCT of C-19 noted above, PMB of 620-635 nm light via 8 LEDs that provide an energy density of 45.40 J/cm2 and a power density of 0.12 W/cm2, was used.
A herb with immune-boosting, anti-cancer, cardio-protective, anti-aging, hair re-growing, nerve growing, cognition-protecting, anti-inflammatory, and pro-male fertility properties.
A THREAD 🧵
Astragalus membranaceus is one of the fifty fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, and has been used as a medicine for more than 2000 years.
In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that this medicinal root contains many compounds with health and protective properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunostimulant, anti-aging, neuroprotective, anti-cancer, and anti-diabetic effects.
"We suggest that melatonin is crucial for attenuating the onset of type 3 diabetes by intervening in Aβ accumulation, insulin resistance, glucose metabolism, and BBB permeability."
"The disturbance of internal circadian system induces glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, which could be restored by melatonin supplementation."
"Only the pineals of animals exposed to the automatically activated field responded with a reduced activity of the rate-limiting enzyme serotonin-N-acetyltransferase, lower melatonin levels and increases in serotonin and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid."
"There is strong indication that the pineal gland is a magnetosensitive system and that changes in the ambient magnetic field alter melatonin secretion and synchronize the circadian rhythms."
"The strength of the environmental magnetic field diminishes during the winter months, leading to increased susceptibility for desynchronization of circadian rhythms."
"Thus, since the acute application of magnetic fields in experimental animals resembles that of acute exposure to light with respect to melatonin secretion (i.e., suppression of melatonin secretion), magnetic treatment might be beneficial for patients with winter depression."
Melatonin is a key regulator of the immune system.
It is able to stimulate the secretion of ROS and IL-1 IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-12 and IL-6.
It helps promote T cell-mediated immunity.
It favors the production of antibodies against T-dependent antigens and NK cell activity.
Chronic sleep deprivation is associated with increased C reactive protein, IL-6, granulocytes, and monocytes and with a reduction in IL-2 secretion, decreased secretion of IL-12 by monocytes, and increased Th2 subpopulations by augmenting secretion of IL10
Sleep deprivation decreases the activity of NK cells and their ability to be activated by IL-2.