This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 8211, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, and the Conference Committee listing.

It is accepted that the mechanisms of low level laser therapy (LLLT) involves photons that are absorbed in the mitochondria of cells and lead to increase of mitochondrial metabolism resulting in more electron transport, increase of mitochondrial membrane potential, and more ATP production. Intracellular calcium changes are seen that correlate with mitochondrial stimulation. The situation with two other intermediates is more complex however: reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO). Evidence exists that low levels of ROS are produced by LLLT in normal cells that can be beneficial by (for instance) activating NF-kB. However high fluences of light can produce large amounts of ROS that can damage the cells. In oxidatively stressed cells the situation may be different. We exposed primary cultured cortical neurons to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) or cobalt chloride (CoCl₂) oxidative insults in the presence or absence of LLLT (810-nm laser at 0.3 or 3 J/cm²). Cell viability of cortical neurons was determined by lactate dehydrogenase assay. ROS in neurons was detected using an ROS probe, MitoRox with confocal microscopy. Results showed that LLLT dose-dependently reversed ROS production and protected cortical neurons against H₂O₂ or CoCl₂ induced oxidative injury in cultured cortical neurons. Conclusion: LLLT can protect cortical neurons against oxidative stress by reversing the levels of ROS.

Several studies indicate that low level laser therapy (LLLT) accelerates the healing process, however, for a determined pathology, dosimetry remains difficult to be established. To understand the tissue optical properties under different conditions is extremely relevant since the dose delivered to the target tissue is known to be critical. The skin pigmentation influence on the laser attenuation is not yet well established on different mice lineages or human ethnical groups, making the dose problematic. Along the same line, inflammatory processes may cause similar problems since the tissues in this condition change their optical properties due to inflammatory cell accumulation. This work evaluated the attenuation pattern of a HeNe laser (λ=632.8 nm) using ex vivo skin samples from Balb/C and C57BL/6 mice under inflammatory stages induced in their paw by local carrageenan inoculation. The samples were placed between two microscope slides, and a CCD camera was placed orthogonal to the beam path. The intensity distribution of the scattered light was photographed in grayscale and analyzed by ImageJ software. Our findings suggest that even slight differences of the epithelial pigmentation could result in a relevant dose loss delivered to the deeper tissues. The increase of the inflammatory cell density in the connective tissue indicated a highly scattering area also resulting in a dose loss for the deeper tissues when compared to control group.

The aim of this work was to create and do characterization of a setup for irradiation of cultured cells with laser light in which light intensity is homogeneous and to create a method for calculating what exactly the quantity of light used in the irradiation is. The characterization was done by evaluating intensity distributions and by evaluation of irradiated in vitro cell viability with different configurations of the apparatus.

Antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation has been successfully used against Gram (+) microorganisms, but most of the photosensitizers (PSs) on Gram (-) bacteria acts weakly. PSs are the natural or synthetic origin dyes, mainly porphyrins. We have synthesized more than 100 new cationic porphyrins and metalloporphyrins with different functional groups (hydroxyethyl, butyl, allyl, methallyl) and metals (cobalt, iron, copper, zinc, silver and other); from the nettle have also been purified pheophytin (a+b) and pheophytin (a) and have synthesized their Ag-and Zn-metalloporphyrins. It was found that in the dark (cytotoxic) mode, the most highly efficiency against microorganisms showed Agmetalloporphyrins of both types of porphyrins (synthetic and natural). Metalloporphyrin of natural origin Ag-pheophytin (a + b) is a strong antibacterial agent and causes 100% death as the Gram (+) microorganisms (St. aureus and MRSA) and the Gram (-) microorganisms (E.coli and Salmonella). It is established that for the destruction of Gram (+) and Gram (-) microorganisms in photodynamic mode cationic water-soluble synthetic metalloporphyrins, especially Zn-TBut4PyP, many times more effective than pheophytins. In vivo conditions on mice established that the best therapeutic activity against various strains of the microorganism St. aureus has the synthetic metalloporphyrin Ag-TBut4PyP. It is significantly more efficient than known drug "Chlorophyllipt" (2.5-3 times) and leads the survival rate of animals up to 50-60%.

We studied peaks of calcium hydroxyapatite - CHA on defects grafted with MTA, treated or not with Light Emitting Diode - LED or IR Laser. 54 rats were divided in 6 groups each subdivided into 3 subgroups (15,21,30d). LED (λ850 ± 10nm) or IR Laser (λ850 nm) was applied over (LED) or in 4 points around the defect at 48 h intervals for 15 days. Raman readings were taken at the surface of the defect. The smaller overall intensity of the peak was found in Group MTA + Laser (1510.2 ± 274.1) and the highest on Group LED (2322 ± 715). There were no statistically significant differences between non-irradiated subjects on regards the CHA peaks. On the other hand, there were statistically significant differences between the Group Clot and LED, Clot and Laser, and Clot and MTA + Laser (p =0.01, p = 0.02, p = 0.003). There were no significant differences between Group MTA and MTA + LED (p=0.2) but significant differences were seen between Groups MTA and MTA + Laser (p=0.01). Significant differences were also observed between Groups LED and Laser (p <0.001) and between Groups MTA + LED and MTA + Laser (p=0.009). MTA, due to its characteristics, seemed to be directly affected by the light. However, the use of either phototherapy positively affected bone healing similarly as observed on different studies using other biomaterials. The overall analysis of our results indicated that the use of either light source resulted in a better, more advanced, and of quality bone repair.

Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT) has been implicated to stimulate tissue, promoting healing and reducing pain. One of the potential pathways stimulated by LLLT relates to the electron transport chain, where photon quantum energy can induce a change in the biochemical reactions within the cell. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility to exploit light additionally as a diagnostic tool to determine tissue physiological states, particularly in quantifying the changes in redox states of Cytochrome C as a result of induced LLLT biochemical reactions.

Low-level laser (or light) therapy (LLLT) is attracting growing interest to treat both stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The fact that near-infrared light can penetrate into the brain allows non-invasive treatment to be carried out with a low likelihood of treatment-related adverse events. It is proposed that red and NIR light is absorbed by chromophores in the mitochondria of cells leading to changes in gene transcription and upregulation of proteins involved in cell survival, antioxidant production, collagen synthesis, reduction of chronic inflammation and cell migration and proliferation. We developed a mouse model of controlled cortical impact (CCI) TBI and examined the effect of 0, 1, 3, and 14 daily 810-nm CW laser treatments in the CCI model as measured by neurological severity score and wire grip and motion test. 1 laser Tx gave a significant improvement while 3 laser Tx was even better. Surprisingly 14 laser Tx was no better than no treatment. Histological studies at necropsy suggested that the neurodegeneration was reduced at 14 days and that the cortical lesion was repaired by BrdU+ve neural progenitor (stem) cells at 28 days. Transcranial laser therapy is a promising treatment for acute (and chronic TBI) and the lack of side-effects and paucity of alternative treatments encourages early clinical trials.

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a promising approach to treat the spinal cord injury (SCI). Since nerve fibers have optical anisotropy, propagation of light in the spinal tissue might be affected by its polarization direction. However, the effect of polarization on the efficacy of LLLT has not been elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the effect of polarization on the efficacy of near-infrared LLLT for SCI. Rat spinal cord was injured with a weight-drop device. The lesion site was irradiated with an 808-nm diode laser beam that was transmitted through a polarizing filter immediately after injury and daily for five consecutive days. The laser power at the injured spinal cord surface was 25 mW, and the dosage per day was 9.6 J/cm2 (spot diameter, 2 cm; irradiation duration, 1200 s). Functional recovery was assessed daily by an open-field test. The results showed that the functional scores of the SCI rats that were treated with 808-nm laser irradiation were significantly higher than those of the SCI alone group (Group 1) from day 5 after injury, regardless of the polarization direction. Importantly, as compared to the locomotive function of the SCI rats that were treated with the perpendicularly-polarized laser parallel to the spinal column (Group 2), that of the SCI rats that were irradiated with the linearly aligned polarization (Group 3) was significantly improved from day 10 after injury. In addition, the ATP contents in the injured spinal tissue of Group 3, which were measured immediately after laser irradiation, were moderately higher than those of Group 2. These observations are attributable to the deeper penetration of the parallelpolarized light in the anisotropic spinal tissue, suggesting that polarization direction significantly affects the efficacy of LLLT for SCI.

In brain anoxia or ischemia, spreading depolarization is a key event that deterimines brain tissue survival. After onset of anoxia/ischemia, impairment of energy metabolism causes anoxic/ischemic depolarization (AD), which considerably consumes energy, leading to acute neuronal death in the brain. Our previous intrinsic-optical-signal imaging for the rat brains showed that about 2 min after starting hypoxia, AD-related light-scattering waves were focally generated in the bilateral outermost regions in the cortex and spread toward the midline, indicating that AD can be monitored by lightscattering signal. The behaviors of the scattering waves were found to be correlated with the survival of the rats. In the present study, we used the scattering signal-based monitoring method for AD and examined whether near-infrared laser irradiation can control AD in the rat brains. The left hemisphere was irradiated with 808-nm laser transcranially at 7.5 mW/cm² before (30 min) and during hypoxia. The onset time of the scattering wave (AD) was significantly delayed in the irradiated hemisphere when compared with that in the non-irradiated hemisphere (3.4 s, n=8). The area of AD spreading in the irradiated hemisphere was significantly smaller than that in the non-irradiated hemisphere (27-90% reduction at 10-50 s after AD onset). These results suggest that near-infrared light can delay and reduce anoxic depolarization in the brain, which is probably due to increase in the cerebral ATP by near-infrared laser irradiation.

Up regulation of iNOS gene expression is playing a role in the initiation of the anti-inflammatory and tissue protective mechanisms related to nitric oxide (NO) for continuous wave red and infrared as well as 905nm superpulsed laser therapy (SPLT). The iNOS expression before and after laser therapy was evaluated in a zymosan-induced acute arthritis model, in knee joints of young (<15 weeks), middle aged (>15 weeks and < 35 weeks) and old (> 35 weeks) FVB/N-Tg (iNOS-luc) mice by bioluminescence imaging.

Limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc) was formerly known as CREST syndrome in reference to the associated clinical features: Calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, Esophageal dysfunction, Sclerodactyly, and Telangiectasias. The transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) has been identified has a major player in the pathogenic process, while low level light therapy (LLLT) has been shown to modulate this cytokine superfamily. This case study was conducted to assess the efficacy of 940nm using microsecond domain pulsing and continuous wave mode (CW) on osteoarticular signs and symptoms associated with lcSSc. The patient was treated two to three times a week for 13 weeks, using a sequential pulsing mode on one elbow, and a CW mode on the other. Efficacy assessments included inflammation, symptoms, pain, and health scales, patient satisfaction, clinical global impression, and adverse effects monitoring. Significant functional and morphologic improvements were observed after LLLT, with best results seen with the pulsing mode. No significant adverse effects were noted. Two mechanisms of action may be at play. The 940nm wavelength provides inside-out heating possibly vasodilating capillaries which in turn increases catabolic processes leading to a reduction of in situ calcinosis. LLLT may also improve symptoms by triggering a cascade of cellular reactions, including the modulation of inflammatory mediators.

In the beginning of the age of enlightenment (or reason), the language of philosophy, science, and theology stemmed equally from the same pens. Many of these early enlightenment authors also applied their thoughts and experiences to practical inventions and entrepreneurship; in the process, they noted and measured different characteristics of light and redirected the use of lenses beyond that of the heat lens which had been developing for over 2000 years. Within decades, microscopes, telescopes, theodolites, and many variations of the heat lens were well known. These advances rapidly changed and expanded the nature of science, subsequent technology, and many boundary notions; that is the way boundaries are defined not just in the sense of what is land and commercial property, but also what notions of boundary help shape and define society, including the unique role that professions play within society. The advent of lasers in the mid twenty century, though, introduced the ability to measure the effects and characteristic of single coherent wavelengths. This also introduced more ways to evaluate the relationship of specific wavelengths of light to other variables and interactions. At the most basic level, the almost revolutionary boundary developments of lasers seem to split down two paths of work: 1) a pursuit of more sophisticated heat lenses having better controls over light's destructive and cutting powers and, 2) more nuanced light-based instruments that not only enhanced the powers of observation, but also offered more minute measurement opportunities and subtle treatment capabilities. It is well worth deliberating, then, if "enlightenment" and "light" might share more than five letters in a row. And (if a common underlying foundation is revealed within these deliberations) , is it worth questioning any possible revelations that might arise, or that might bear relevance on today's research and developments in light based sciences, technology, clinical professions, and other bio applications. And, finally, how might any such insight influence, then, the future of light based research and its possible application?

This case report describes an effort to control bulimia nervosa by combining low-level laser therapy (LLLT)-the application of red and near-infrared light to specific body points-and hypnosis. A 29-year old female with a 14-year history of bulimia received one session of LLLT combined with hypnosis. Two weeks later, following a measurable decrease in bulimic episodes (purging), a session of psychotherapy and hypnosis was administered. Six months post-treatment, the patient has experienced a complete cessation of purging activities without recurrence. LLLT, when used in conjunction with hypnosis and psychotherapy, was effective in managing bulimia and may prove useful in treating other eating disorders.

A single, open and non comparative study was conducted at Anwar Shah Trust for C.P. & Paralysis in collaboration with the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Children Hospital Lahore, Pakistan to evaluate the effects of ACULASER THERAPY in childern suffering from Cerebral Palsy (C.P.) and associated Neurological Disorders like epilepsy, cortical blindness, spasticity, hemiplegia, paraplegia, diplegia, quadriplegia, monoplegia, sensoryneural deafness and speech disorders. In all 500 children were treated and the data was gathered during a period of 4 years from December 2006 till December 2010. These children were further classified according to the type of C.P. (spastic, athetoid, mixed) they suffered from and associated Neurological Disorders. This article shows results in C.P. childern who were treated with ACULASER THERAPY for a minimum of 08 weeks and more or had minimum of 15 treatment sessions and more. This article also shows that those childern who were given a break in the treatment for 1 month to 1 year did not show any reversal of the signs and symptoms. Analysis of the data showed that out of 342 children with Spasticity and Stiffness 294 showed marked improvement showing 87% success rate, out of 252 children with Epileptic fits, there was a significant reduction in the intensity, frequency and duration of Epileptic fits in 182 children showing 72% success rate, out of 96 children with Cortical Blindness 60 children showed improvement accounting for 63% efficacy rate, out of 210 children with Hearing Difficulties, 126 showed marked improvement accounting for 60% improvement rate, out of 380 children with Speech Disorders 244 showed improvement reflecting 64 % improvement rate, out of 192 children with Hemiplegia 142 showed improvement in movement, tone and power accounting for 74% improvement rate, out of 152 children with Quadriplegia 104 showed improvement in gross and fine motor functions showing 69% success rate and out of 116 children with Paraplegia of lower limbs 88 showed improvement in weight bearing, standing and movement accounting for 76% improvement rate.

The use of diodes instead of lasers was recently suggested for phototherapeutic applications. This trend is due to economical and practical reasons and is based on the argument that lasers have no preference over diodes as light sources as the former lose their coherency upon penetrating biological tissues. This module supports this claim while providing a brief explanation to non professionals on the meaning of coherence of light as well as the physics behind the generation of speckle patterns, and the relation of these physical entities to photomedicine.

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that undergo continual fusion and fission to maintain their morphology and functions, but the mechanism involved is still not clear. Here, we investigated the effect of mitochondrial oxidative stress triggered by high-fluence low-power laser irradiation (HF-LPLI) on mitochondrial dynamics in human lung adenocarcinoma cells (ASTC-a-1). Upon HF-LPLI-triggered oxidative stress, mitochondria displayed a fragmented structure, which was abolished by exposure to dehydroascorbic acid (DHA), a reactive oxygen species scavenger, indicating that oxidative stress can induce mitochondrial fragmentation. Mitochondrial translocation of the profission protein dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) was observed following HF-LPLI, demonstrating apoptosis-related activation of Drp1. Notably, DHA pre-treatment prevented HF-LPLI-induced Drp1 activation. We conclude that mitochondrial oxidative stress through activation of Drp1 causes mitochondrial fragmentation.

The main goal was to study the sensitivity of microorganisms to combined action of LED blue (405 nm) light and Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. The bacterial strains used in this study were Staphylococcus aureus 209 P, S. simulans, Dermabacter hominis (isolated from maxillary sinusitis). As blue light source LED with spectrum maxima at 405 nm was taken. The light exposure was ranged from 5 to 30 min. Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with average size about 8 nm in concentration of 0.001% were used. It was shown that irradiation with blue light caused 20 to 90% decrease in the number of microorganisms treated with nanoparticles.

Dentistry has traditionally depended on science and technology for improvement of diagnostic tools and treatment options. The impact of using light sources in clinical Dentistry has been significantly higher than in clinical Medicine and Surgery. Light sources have been used as a therapeutic agent for many centuries. The major use of light for therapeutic applications in health care sciences was noticeably initiated after the development of lasers in 1960. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of LLLT on treating disorders of the maxillofacial region. For this, the records of patients treated at the Laser Center of the School of Dentistry of the Federal University of Bahia were revised. We analyzed 867 treatment cycles in 572 patients. The mean age of the patients was 53.5 years old, most were females. Majority of them complained of some pain. G50.0 and K07.6 were the most frequent diagnostics. The mean energy density per session was 18.36 ± 14.6 J/cm² and mean treatment one 176.4 ± 132.4 J/cm². IR laser was the most frequently used wavelength. Most patients were asymptomatic or improved at discharge. Improved or asymptomatic patients had a mean age of 50.9 years old. For these, the mean number of sessions was 13, the total mean session energy density was 16.6 J/cm² and mean total energy density treatment was 169.5 J/cm2. For symptomatic patients, the mean age was 56.4 years old. The mean number of sessions was 10. The mean energy density per session on these patients was 20.6 J/cm² and mean total treatment energy density was 210.9 J/cm². 55.34% of the patients were asymptomatic or improved at discharge. For these, the mean number of sessions was 13, the total mean session energy density was 16.6 J/cm² and mean total energy density treatment was 169.5 J/cm². For symptomatic patients, the mean age was 56.4 years old. The mean number of sessions was 10. The mean energy density per session on these patients was 20.6 J/cm² and mean total treatment energy density was 210.9 J/cm². The results of this study are indicative that the use of LLLT for treating different disorders of the maxillofacial region is effective and well accepted by the patients.

Leishmaniasis is a complex disease that affects more than 12 million people in 88 countries worldwide. Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is the most common species in the Americas and the most important causative agent of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazil. The therapeutic arsenal routinely employed to treat patients with leishmaniasis is limited and unsatisfactory. For cutaneous leishmaniasis, pentavalent antimonials are the first line therapeutic scheme recommended by the WHO. These compounds are highly toxic, poorly tolerated and their effectiveness highly variable. In this work, a technique with, so far, an unknown disadvantage is discussed. The aim of this study was to verify the effectiveness of PACT in vitro, as a new technique for the treatment of Leishmaniasis. For this, semiconductor laser (λ = 660nm, 40mW, 4.2J/cm², CW) associated to phenothiazine's derivatives (5 and 10 μg/ml, TBO, Methylene Blue or Phenothiazine) on the promastigotes form of Leishmania braziliensis in a single session was used. Viability of the parasites was assessed in quadruplicates of each group. The samples were removed and analyzed in a hemocytometer 72h after PACT. We found an important decrease in the number of viable parasites on all treated groups in comparison to their controls. The results of present study showed significant percentage of lethality (above 95%) of the protocol. The 99.23% of lethality was achieved with 10 μg/ml of TBO. No lethality was seen on groups treated neither with laser nor with each compounds separately. The results are promising and indicative that the use of PACT may be a powerful treatment of leishmaniasis when compared to already available ones.

Pathogens could be inactivated via a light source coupled with a photosensitizing agent in photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT). This project studied the effect of non-homogenous substrate on cell colony. The non-homogeneity could be controlled by iron oxide nano-particles doping in porous glassy substrates such that each cell would experience tens of hot spots when illuminated with additional light source. The substrate non-homogeneity was characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Extended X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure at Brookhaven Synchrotron Light Source. Microscopy images of cell motion were used to study the motility. Laboratory cell colonies on non-homogenous substrates exhibit reduced motility similar to those observed with sub-lethal PCAT treatment. Such motility reduction on non-homogenous substrate is interpreted as the presence of thermal stress. The studied pathogens included E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Non-pathogenic microbes Bacillus subtilis was also studied for comparison. The results show that sub-lethal PACT could be effective with additional non-homogenous thermal stress. The use of non-uniform illumination on a homogeneous substrate to create thermal stress in sub-micron length scale is discussed via light correlation in propagation through random medium. Extension to sub-lethal PACT application complemented with thermal stress would be an appropriate application.

The Bell's palsy (G51) consists of a unilateral face paralysis that sudden begins with unknown cause and can result in complete mimic loss or partial paralysis of the face. Damage to the VII cranial nerve can be found in the pathology, promoting mussel's inactivity. The light Photobiomodulation (LPBM) has presented ability of rush the tissue repair, favoring the regeneration of neural structures. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness use of the 780nm laser and 850nm LED (light-emitting diode) in the treatment of the face paralysis. Were evaluated 14 patients that suffer of Bell's palsy whom were submitted to the light administration, on the Laser Clinic of the UFBA between 2005 and 2010. The treatment was performed by infrared Laser in 11 patients (78.57%), and by LED in 3 patients (21.42%). At the end of the 12 sections, 11 patients (78.57%) had presented themselves cure or with substantial improvement of the initial picture, however 3 patients (21.42%) dealt with infra-red Laser λ780nm had not evolution. The light presented as an effective method for the treatment of Bell's palsy, but the association with the physiotherapy and medications is important.

The present studied evaluated the in vitro effects of PDT on Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis promastigotes. For this examination L. amazonensis promastigotes, stain Josefa, were used and maintained in Warren media supplement with fetal bovine serum at 26°C for 96 hours. A viability curve was accomplished using different concentrations of methylene blue photosensitizer associated to red laser light in order to obtain the most effective interaction to inhibit the parasite's growth. Two pre-irradiation periods, 5 and 30 minutes, were evaluated and the promastigotes were counted by colorimetry. On fluorescence microscopy the autophagic processes and reactive oxygen species were detected. Promastigotes treated with Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) by concentrations of 5 and 0,315ug/mL, presented cellular proliferation inhibition when compared to the control. In the first condition, the cells had structural alterations such as truncated cells, cells with two flagella, bleb formation and cells body deformation, while none of these modifications could be visualized in the control group. When analyzed through fluorescence microscopy, the promastigotes treated were positives for free radicals immediately after light application and also 1 hour after treatment presenting signs of autophagia. PDT on L. (L.) amazonensis is effective causing alterations that can help elucidate the mechanisms of the parasite's death when treated with methilene