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Lasered Healing

IT WAS not very long ago—in 1967—that Hungarian scientist Endre Mester invented the first working laser. And its use in medical therapy was born of an accidental observation with mice subjects: The back of shaven mice unexpectedly grew hair after laser was directed on it. And such invigoration of hair (growth) proved much faster than when no laser had been applied. 

Today, the use of low-intensity laser treatment (Lilt) found application in the short treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, tendinopathy and chronic joint disorders. Dentist T. Ebrahimi of the Dental Research Center and his colleagues at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Iran) wanted to find out how far Lilt can effect healing in the human bones on the basis that it can supply direct stimulative light energy to body cells, stimulating their molecules and atoms. 

One advantage is that it cannot cause rapid and significant increase in tissue temperature, making burning less likely. 

In laboratory studies using bone cells, wavelengths of 670 nanometers (nm) and 830 nm resulted in a higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the osteoblast formation increased. 

ALP is an enzyme that can be found in all tissues in the human body, with greater concentration in the liver, bile duct, kidney, bone and the placenta. Its normal blood concentration level ranges between 20 and 140 IU per liter. But it is significantly higher in children and pregnant women. 

High levels indicate active bone formation, it being a byproduct of osteoblast activity, such as in Paget’s disease. (Osteoblasts are embryonic cells capable of developing into bone cells osteocytes.) 

In the results published in the Journal of Dentistry (December 2012), Ebrahimi and colleague found higher energy density (2 J/cm2) has no effect on cellular activity, however. 

Animal studies found healing effects in... [READ MORE]

This article appears in Sun-Star Cebu newspaper on 26 June 2013.

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