Red & Near-Infrared Light Therapy (660nm, 850nm) — References

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• Parent Topic: Red & Near-Infrared Light Therapy (660nm, 850nm)
• Reference Hub: 04 - Longevity & Environment References MOC

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Primary Literature Dossier

1. Hamblin (2018) — Mechanisms and Mitochondrial Redox Signaling in Photobiomodulation

• Citation: Hamblin MR. Mechanisms and Mitochondrial Redox Signaling in Photobiomodulation. Photochemistry and Photobiology. 2018 Mar;94(2):199-212.
• Identifiers: PMID: 29161748 (PubMed · Europe PMC) | DOI: 10.1111/php.12864 (DOI · SciDB · Scholar)
• Study Design & Sample Size: Authoritative mechanistic synthesis of cellular, biophysical, and pre-clinical/clinical photobiomodulation studies.
• Key Quantitative Outcomes:
  • Characterized the dual action peaks of Cytochrome c Oxidase (Complex IV) at $660\text{ nm}$ (${\text{Cu}}_B$ / heme $a_3$ charge transfer) and $810\text{–}850\text{ nm}$ (oxidized ${\text{Cu}}_A$ binuclear center), explaining photodissociation of inhibitory nitric oxide ($\text{NO}$), restoration of mitochondrial membrane potential ($\Delta {\Psi }_m$), and transient retrograde ROS signaling in normal vs. oxidatively stressed cells.
  • Defined the Arndt-Schulz biphasic dose-response curve, showing optimal mitochondrial ATP upregulation at tissue fluences of $1\text{–}10{\text{ J/cm}}^2$ and bio-inhibition above $50\text{–}100{\text{ J/cm}}^2$.

2. Leal-Junior et al. (2015) — Ergogenic and Muscle Recovery Effects of Photobiomodulation: Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis of Human RCTs

• Citation: Leal-Junior ECP, Vanin AA, Miranda EF, de Carvalho PTC, Dal Corso S, Bjordal JM. Effect of phototherapy (low-level laser therapy and light-emitting diode therapy) on exercise performance and markers of exercise recovery: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Lasers in Medical Science. 2015 Feb;30(2):925-939.
• Identifiers: PMID: 24249354 (PubMed · Europe PMC) | DOI: 10.1007/s10103-013-1465-4 (DOI · SciDB · Scholar)
• Study Design & Sample Size: Systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 randomized placebo-controlled human trials ($n=297$ healthy and athletic participants receiving pre-exercise red $630\text{–}660\text{ nm}$ and/or NIR $810\text{–}850\text{ nm}$ phototherapy at $10\text{–}60\text{ J}$ per muscle site).
• Key Quantitative Outcomes:
  • Pre-exercise PBM significantly increased number of repetitions to failure by $+5.47$ repetitions ($95\%\text{ CI}:2.35\text{–}8.59,p=0.0006$) and prolonged time to exhaustion by $+4.12\text{ seconds}$ ($p=0.0002$).
  • Significantly attenuated post-exercise muscle damage, lowering serum Creatine Kinase (CK) by $-65.0\text{ U/L}$ ($p=0.004$) and accelerating blood lactate clearance vs. sham placebo.

3. Wunsch & Matuschka (2014) — Controlled Trial of Red and Near-Infrared Light on Intradermal Collagen Density Increase

• Citation: Wunsch A, Matuschka K. A controlled trial to determine the efficacy of red and near-infrared light treatment in patient satisfaction, reduction of fine lines, wrinkles, skin roughness, and intradermal collagen density increase. Photomedicine and Laser Surgery. 2014 Feb;32(2):93-100.
• Identifiers: PMID: 24286286 (PubMed · Europe PMC) | DOI: 10.1089/pho.2013.3616 (DOI · SciDB · Scholar)
• Study Design & Sample Size: Randomized controlled human clinical trial ($n=136$ volunteers, with $n=113$ treated twice weekly for 30 sessions at $\sim 9{\text{ J/cm}}^2$ using polychromatic red/NIR $611\text{–}650\text{ nm}$ and $570\text{–}850\text{ nm}$ vs. $n=23$ untreated controls).
• Key Quantitative Outcomes:
  • High-resolution $20\text{ MHz}$ ultrasound collagenometry showed a statistically significant increase in intradermal collagen density ($p<0.001$) in both red and red/NIR treatment groups vs. no change in controls.
  • Computerized optical profilometry confirmed a significant reduction in periorbital skin roughness ($R_a$ and $R_z$, $p<0.001$) and wrinkle depth as judged by blinded clinical photography.

4. Wang et al. (2017) — Transcranial Photobiomodulation Directly Upregulates Human Prefrontal Cytochrome c Oxidase and Hemodynamics In Vivo

• Citation: Wang X, Tian F, Reddy DD, Nalawade SS, Barrett DW, Gonzalez-Lima F, Liu H. Up-regulation of cerebral cytochrome-c-oxidase and hemodynamics by transcranial infrared laser stimulation: A mechanistic study of non-invasive neuroprotection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) / Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. 2017 Dec;37(12):3789-3802. (Companion to PNAS 2016; DOI: 10.1177/0271678X17691783 (DOI · SciDB · Scholar)).
• Identifiers: PMID: 28178891 (PubMed · Europe PMC) | DOI: 10.1177/0271678X17691783 (DOI · SciDB · Scholar)
• Study Design & Sample Size: Placebo-controlled, crossover human neuroimaging study ($n=22$ healthy adults) using broadband near-infrared spectroscopy (bb-NIRS) during and after 8 minutes of transcranial NIR PBM ($1,064\text{ nm}$, $250{\text{ mW/cm}}^2$, $60{\text{ J/cm}}^2$ total dose to right forehead).
• Key Quantitative Outcomes:
  • Provided direct in vivo human proof that transcranial NIR photons penetrate the human cranium to oxidize cerebral Cytochrome c Oxidase ($\Delta [\text{oxCCO}]$, $+0.21\mu \text{M}$, $p<0.0001$), which subsequently drove a sustained increase in prefrontal oxygenated hemoglobin ($\Delta [{\text{HbO}}_2]$, $+1.8\mu \text{M}$, $p<0.0001$) and executive cognitive performance.