🔗 Share this article

Light therapy is certainly having a surge in popularity. There are now available glowing gadgets for everything from complexion problems and aging signs to sore muscles and periodontal issues, recently introduced is a dental hygiene device outfitted with miniature red light sources, described by its makers as “a major advance in at-home oral care.” Globally, the sector valued at $1bn last year is expected to increase to $1.8bn within the next decade. You can even go and sit in an infrared sauna, that employ light waves rather than traditional heat sources, your body is warmed directly by infrared light. As claimed by enthusiasts, the experience resembles using an LED facial mask, enhancing collagen production, relaxing muscles, reducing swelling and long-term ailments and potentially guarding against cognitive decline.

Research and Reservations

“It feels almost magical,” notes a Durham University professor, who has researched light therapy for two decades. Certainly, some of light’s effects on our bodies are well established. Sunlight enables vitamin D production, needed for bone health, immunity, muscles and more. Light exposure controls our sleep-wake cycles, as well, activating brain chemicals and hormonal responses in daylight, and preparing the body for rest as darkness falls. Artificial sun lamps are standard treatment for winter mood disorders to elevate spirits during colder months. Undoubtedly, light plays a vital role in human health.

Different Light Modalities

Although mood lamps generally utilize blue-spectrum frequencies, consumer light therapy products mostly feature red and infrared emissions. During advanced medical investigations, such as Chazot’s investigations into the effects of infrared on brain cells, finding the right frequency is key. Photons represent electromagnetic waves, spanning from low-energy radio waves to high-energy gamma radiation. Light-based treatment utilizes intermediate light frequencies, the highest energy of those being invisible ultraviolet, then the visible spectrum we perceive as colors and then infrared (which we can see with night-vision goggles).

UV light has been used by medical dermatologists for many years to manage persistent skin disorders including eczema and psoriasis. It modulates intracellular immune mechanisms, “and dampens down inflammation,” explains Dr Bernard Ho. “Substantial research supports light therapy.” UVA reaches deeper skin layers compared to UVB, in contrast to LEDs in commercial products (which generally deliver red, infrared or blue light) “typically have shallower penetration.”

Safety Protocols and Medical Guidance

Potential UVB consequences, such as burning or tanning, are well known but in medical devices the light is delivered in a “narrow-band” form – indicating limited wavelength spectrum – that reduces potential hazards. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, meaning intensity is regulated,” notes the specialist. Most importantly, the lightbulbs are calibrated by medical technicians, “to ensure that the wavelength that’s being delivered is fit for purpose – unlike in tanning salons, where it’s a bit unregulated, and wavelength accuracy isn’t verified.”

Consumer Devices and Evidence Gaps

Red and blue light sources, he notes, “aren’t typically employed clinically, but they may help with certain conditions.” Red LEDs, it is proposed, improve circulatory function, oxygen uptake and cell renewal in the skin, and promote collagen synthesis – a primary objective in youth preservation. “Studies are available,” says Ho. “However, it’s limited.” In any case, given the plethora of available tools, “we don’t know whether or not the lights emitted are reflective of the research that has been done. Optimal treatment times are unknown, ideal distance from skin surface, if benefits outweigh potential risks. There are lots of questions.”

Specific Applications and Professional Perspectives

One of the earliest blue-light products targeted Cutibacterium acnes, a microbe associated with acne. Research support isn’t sufficient for standard medical recommendation – although, says Ho, “it’s commonly used in cosmetic clinics.” Certain patients incorporate it into their regimen, he observes, but if they’re buying a device for home use, “we just tell them to try it carefully and to make sure it has been assessed for safety. Unless it’s a medical device, the regulation is a bit grey.”

Advanced Research and Cellular Mechanisms

Meanwhile, in advanced research areas, scientists have been studying cerebral tissue, discovering multiple mechanisms for infrared’s cellular benefits. “Pretty much everything I did with the light at that particular wavelength was positive and protective,” he reports. Multiple claimed advantages have created skepticism toward light treatment – that results appear unrealistic. However, scientific investigation has altered his perspective.

Chazot mostly works on developing drug treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, however two decades past, a GP who was developing an antiviral light treatment for cold sores sought his expertise as a biologist. “He created some devices so that we could work with them with cells and with fruit flies,” he explains. “I was quite suspicious. This particular frequency was around 1070 nanometers, that many assumed was biologically inert.”

What it did have going for it, however, was its efficient water penetration, meaning it could penetrate the body more deeply.

Mitochondrial Effects and Brain Health

More evidence was emerging at the time that infrared light targeted the mitochondria in cells. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells, generating energy for them to function. “All human cells contain mitochondria, even within brain tissue,” explains the neuroscientist, who, as a neuroscientist, decided to focus the research on brain cells. “Research confirms improved brain blood flow with phototherapy, which is consistently beneficial.”

With 1070 treatment, cellular power plants create limited oxidative molecules. In low doses this substance, notes the scientist, “triggers guardian proteins that maintain organelle health, look after your cells and also deal with the unwanted proteins.”

All of these mechanisms appear promising for treating a brain disease: free radical neutralization, swelling control, and cellular cleanup – self-digestion mechanisms eliminating harmful elements.

Current Research Status and Professional Opinions

The last time Chazot checked the literature on using the 1070 wavelength on human dementia patients, he reports, approximately 400 participants enrolled in multiple trials, incorporating his preliminary American studies