Lin asked me to do a little research on photobiomodulation therapy. She told me she has at least one Facebook group member who has been waiting to get into a clinical trial with LumiThera, a company in the field.
Ok. Since I know exactly nothing about photobiomodulation, I guess that means I get busy on the web!
According to an article by the Vielight company, photobiomodulation therapy is defined as the utilization of non-ionizing electromagnetic energy to trigger photochemical changes within cellular structures that are receptive to photons.
Whoa.
The take home message there is light can be used to trigger processes that repair cells and promote healing. Different wavelengths of electromagnetic energy, such as light, cause different reactions. Different intensities of radiation have different effects.
Different parts of the body also react to photobiomodulation. The Vielight article talked about using electromagnetic energy to treat neurological issue.
Considering someone once described eyes as the only part of your brain you can see, it is not surprising they would also be using it to treat diseases of the eyes. In a 2016 article in the International Journal of Ophthalmology, Ivayla Geneva looked at how photobiomodulation – also known as low-level laser therapy – can be used to treat retinal diseases including retinopathy of prematurity, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration. She described it as a promising therapy that is low cost and non-invasive.
Photobiomodulation therapy consists of a series of brief illuminations of generally near-red or infrared light using a laser or a light-emitting diode ( LED). The long wavelengths of red light allow for deep tissue penetration.
The Geneva article was based on pre-clinical studies from 2015 or so. That is, it was mostly very promising rat lab stuff that is now around five years old. That can be ancient history in science. It also was a very technical article and referenced a lot of what is going on at a biochemical level. Way above my pay grade! What is actually happening now?
Moving up to 2017, Acta Ophthalmologica published an internationally collaborative study by Merry, Munk, Dotson, Walker and Devenyi. This was the first study to demonstrate improvements in both functional vision and anatomical outcomes using photobiomodulation with dry AMD. Merry et. al. found positive changes in best corrected vision, Drusen volume and Drusen thickness. Contrast sensitivity was also significantly improve.
The above quoted study was the opening salvo in LumiThera’s series of clinical trials attempting to use photobiomodulation against dry age-related macular degeneration. It led, of course, to another, larger study. Called LITESITE, this study launched in 2016 in Canada.
LITESITE II started operations as of March and, according to Clinicaltrials.gov, was still recruiting as of July 10. The bad news for many of us is all, ten research sites are in Europe! They are running the study in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
OK. Let’s put on our deerstalker hats and play Sherlock Holmes for a second. There’s Canada, Latin America and Europe. Where is the United States?
It appears that even though LumiThera has won multiple awards for medical innovation, it has not even started being vetted by the FDA. This should probably start soon, though. In February of this year the National Eye Institute gave LumiThera $2,5 million to start research here.
When I say “soon”, of course, we have to understand that is a very relative term.
Clinical research requires astronomical amounts of money. $2.5 million is barely enough to start. Other “Daddy Warbucks” will be needed.
In the meantime? Keep an eye on LumiThera. They may have the first, proven treatment for intermediate AMD.