Light Therapy Has Potential for Treating Parkinson’s Disease

According to a study, low level light therapy (LLLT) holds potential for improving neuronal cell function in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson's disease belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders, which are the result of the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. The four primary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are tremor, or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; rigidity, or stiffness of the limbs and trunk; slowness of movement; and impaired balance and coordination.

Parkinson’s disease usually begins around age 60, but it can start earlier. It is more common in men than in women. There is no cure for Parkinson's disease.

The study is the latest in a series of articles by researchers at the UVA Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Research Center of Excellence about promising new treatments for re-energizing the cellular engines of patients with Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Led by Patricia A. Trimmer, the in vitro study showed that a single, brief treatment with a 810 nm low level, near-infrared laser increased for two-hours the velocity of mitochondrial movement in cells taken from patients with sporadic Parkinson’s disease, speeding it up to levels comparable to cells from a disease-free, age-matched control group.

“Our findings provide early-stage confirmation that LLLT has the potential to improve neuronal function in many patients with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological diseases,” says Trimmer. Interestingly, the most dysfunctional patient cells had the weakest response to LLLT. The therapy had no impact on healthy control group cells.

Mitochondria are the cellular engines that transform food into fuel in our bodies and perform their work in the energy-intensive tissue of our brains, retinas, hearts and skeletal muscles. In Parkinson’s disease patients, mitochondria become metabolically and functionally compromised. Cells slow down, become ineffective in generating energy and over-produce oxygen free radicals. If produced in excess, oxygen free radicals chemically attack all cell components, including proteins, DNA and lipids in cell membranes.

As Trimmer points out, numerous investigational Parkinson’s disease drugs have demonstrated efficacy in animal models but proven largely ineffective in humans. By contrast, LLLT is already being used to treat a wide range of human conditions involving injury and inflammation. It has also been evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials as a way to ameliorate the consequences of stroke.
References:
1. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
2. Patricia A. Trimmer, et al. Reduced axonal transport in Parkinson's disease cybrid neurites is restored by light therapy. Molecular Neurodegeneration 2009, 4:26. PMID: 19534794.

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