Photobiomodulation Devices and Research (including Long COVID)

A comprehensive photobiomodulation research database compiled by Vladimir Hekinan (a Finnish scientist and dentist) contains over 7,000 categorized studies searchable by body part, trial type, and outcomes, providing a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians investigating photobiomodulation evidence.

“in my search for understanding about photob biom modul ation I came across this database which I'll make available to you in the link in the description below this spreadsheet was put together by a scientist involved in photobiomodulation who's living in Finland he's also a dentist his name is Vladimir hekinan quite an amazing spreadsheet that he's put together with over 7,000 different research studies that are categorized based on the part of the body the type of trial and the outcomes of course this is a searchable database”

A March 2024 paper on transcranial photobiomodulation describes clinical applications including angiogenesis, anti-apoptosis, cell migration, neuron growth, neurogenesis, and lymphatic drainage (important in dementia).

“here's a paper that was actually just published at the time of our production of this video which is March of 2024 showing the trans cranial photobiomodulation for the brain and its wide range of clinical applications you can see here over on the right hand side of the screen a number of the different applications that they're talking about for instance angiogenesis anti- apotosis cell migration neuron growth etc etc”

Melatonin produced in the mitochondria (not just pineal-derived melatonin) can mitigate excessive reactive oxygen species in COVID-19 patients and SARS-CoV-2 infected cells, representing a site-specific antioxidant mechanism.

“melatonin secreted from the pineal gland could be a mitigating Factor against excessive reactive oxygen species in covid-19 patients and in SARS cov2 infected cells but what became apparent to me is that melatonin from the sun which is produced on site in the mitochondria could also have a benefit”

Near-infrared light is able to penetrate through the scalp, bone, and cerebrospinal fluid, allowing it to diffuse throughout the brain surface and conduct deep into gray matter where it can modulate cellular function.

“first of all we've Ted talked about that near infrared light is able to penetrate through the scalp through the bone through the cable spinal fluid which then diffuses it throughout the surface of the brain and then the crevices conduct that light deep down into the surface of the brain where the gray matter is”

Photobiomodulation is defined as the biochemical reactions that occur in living cells in response to light, describing the complex chain of physiological reactions in diseased and damaged tissues that accelerate wound healing, increase circulation, reduce inflammation and pain, and restore normal cellular function.

“photobiomodulation is specifically describing the biochemical reactions that occur in living cells in response to light for some of us watching this video this may be news to us except for perhaps the retina of the eye we're not aware of any way in which sunlight or light affects the human body and what we're going to find out is that is not true light does affect the human body in profound ways”

Additional proposed mechanisms of photobiomodulation include stimulation of melatonin production, reduction of oxidative stress, and making water around ATP synthase (where energy production occurs) less viscous and therefore more efficient.

“there's also other theories that near infrared light also stimulates melatonin production and reduces oxidative stress and also that near infrared light makes the water around the ftpa where energy production occurs less viscous and therefore more effective and efficient”

Currently, no photobiomodulation devices are FDA-approved for clinical use; Neuronic and Vlight are the two major companies pursuing FDA approval with 2–3 years estimated timeline, with approvals expected to be disease-specific.

“right now there are no devices that are FDA approved the two major companies are neuronic which you see here and also one that I'll show you in a little bit called vlight and my understanding is they could be anywhere from 2 to 3 years before these devices get FDA approval and they will be specific for specific diseases”

A study using a transcranial photobiomodulation helmet emitting at 1070 nanometers conducted a head-to-head trial comparing helmet-only therapy to whole-body photobiomodulation (660 nm and 850 nm) and found equivalent improvements in cognition scores and digital symbol substitution test performance between the two modalities.

“this is a helmet that is made by the company neuronic and this is known as the neur radiant 1070 because it puts out light at 1070 nanm they did a head-to-head trial against the entire bed which is whole body photobiomodulation which puts out two different frequencies one at 660 and the other at 850 and what they wanted to do was to actually test out objectively to see whether or not you needed to have a helmet or a whole bed tissue radiation so what they looked at here is the data from these objective data sets and in the first half you're looking at trans cranial and in the second half you're looking at whole body and you can see that the Improvement in the cognition score was the same name here again you're looking at trans cranial and the Improvement there in the digital symbol substitution test and you're looking at whole body here as well and it was about the same in terms of improvements in patients who had these cognitive assessments”

Long COVID cognitive deficits resemble traumatic brain injury in mechanism and presentation, suggesting that photobiomodulation therapies that benefit TBI may also benefit long COVID brain fog and cognitive impairment.

“and so what we see here in terms of long Co and brain fog is that it's not too dissimilar to what we are seeing in traumatic brain injury”

Natural sunlight is the absolute best way to obtain photobiomodulation benefits and is free, but artificial photobiomodulation devices are necessary alternatives for patients unable to access sunlight (hospitalized, critically ill, geographic/climatic constraints).

“at this point in Venture that I still believe 100% that the absolute best way to take advantage of these mechanisms is to get outside and get natural sunlight and that is the best way to do it and it's absolutely free that being said there are situations where patients can't get outside it's too cold it's not enough sun it's too dark they're not able to physically patients are in the hospital they're too critically ill they can't be disconnected from the hospital there are so many reasons why this could happen”

Vlight states on their website that their devices are not FDA-approved but are classified as low-risk General Wellness devices under the FDA's draft General Wellness Policy (January 20, 2015) and have been independently TUV-certified as safe for consumer use by a European standard.

“if we ask on their website whether or not this is FDA approved there is a message that comes up saying that no it is not FDA approved the FDA have categorized our devices as lowrisk General Wellness devices in accordance to the fda's draft on General wellness policy on lowrisk devices dated January 20 2015 all Vite devices have been independently TUV certified as safe for Consumer use”

Photobiomodulation therapy is best used as a precision tool (analogous to a surgeon's scalpel) under the guidance of knowledgeable experts who understand the device's capabilities and can customize protocols for individual conditions, not as a simple one-button device.

“I consider it like a surgeon's scalpel Just Like a Surgeon scalpel it is a tool that is used but is best used when under the control of someone who is knowledgeable and understands what that device can do as I'll show you here in a little bit this device is not something that you just put on your head and flip a button there is a number of inputs and there are variables that you can input to have the desired effect”

A case report of a 57-year-old African-American man with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed positive response to photobiomodulation therapy using wavelengths of 880 and 905 nanometers, published as 'First use of PBMT in COVID-19'.

“in this database you can find studies like this and case reports for instance like this a 57-year-old African-American man with severe covid-19 pneumonia who responded to supportive biomodulation therapy first use of pbmt in covid-19 the wavelengths that were used here was 88 and 905 nanometers”

Neuronic is starting a clinical trial for the NeuroRadiant 1070 and is recruiting patients aged 50–75 years with mild cognitive impairment, requiring a computer, smartphone, a willing caregiver, and ability to drive up to 20 miles for two EEG assessments (baseline and end-of-study).

“I did notice on their website that they are starting a clinical trial and that they are looking for people to enter into that clinical trial so they can do further research and submit those to the FDA for approval these are are some of the eligibility criteria 50 to 75 years of age located in the United States have mild cognitive impairment have a computer and a smartphone have a caregiver or family member willing to help and willing to drive for up to 20 mil to obtain two EEG tests one at the beginning and one at the end of the study”