Effect of Transcranial Low-Level Light Therapy vs Sham Therapy Among Patients With Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract and Figures

Importance: Preclinical studies have shown that transcranial near-infrared low-level light therapy (LLLT) administered after traumatic brain injury (TBI) confers a neuroprotective response.

Objectives: To assess the feasibility and safety of LLLT administered acutely after a moderate TBI and the neuroreactivity to LLLT through quantitative magnetic resonance imaging metrics and neurocognitive assessment.

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Resting-State Functional Connectivity: Signal Origins and Analytic Methods

Abstract

Resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) has been widely studied in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and is observed by a significant temporal correlation of spontaneous low-frequency signal fluctuations (SLFs) both within and across hemispheres during rest. Different hypotheses of RSFC include the biophysical origin hypothesis and cognitive origin hypothesis, which show that the role of SLFs and RSFC is still not completely understood. Furthermore, RSFC and age studies have shown an “age-related compensation” phenomenon. RSFC data analysis methods include time domain analysis, seed-based correlation, regional homogeneity, and principal and independent component analyses. Despite advances in RSFC, the authors also discuss challenges and limitations, ranging from head motion to methodological limitations.

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Light Therapy Saves Former BYU Linebacker From Suicide

For six weeks he reported to the V.A. alongside returning vets from Afghanistan and Iraq. The treatment was painless. In a process called photobiomodulation, each subject was hooked up to a machine that sent what is called “near infrared light” to various parts of the brain.“It’s groundbreaking, there’s no other word to describe it,” he says. “It just seems to reset the brain. The only side effect is I’m stronger and in better shape than I’ve ever been.”

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Pulsed Transcranial Red/Near-Infrared Light Therapy Using Light-Emitting Diodes Improves Cerebral Blood Flow and Cognitive Function in Veterans with Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Series

By S Gregory Hipskind |Pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov | February 2019

Twelve symptomatic military Veterans diagnosed with chronic TBI >18 months post-trauma received pulsed transcranial PBMT (tPBMT) using two neoprene therapy pads containing 220 infrared and 180 red LEDs, generating a power output of 3.3 W and an average power density of 6.4 mW/cm2 for 20 min, thrice per week over 6 weeks. Outcome measures included standardized neuropsychological test scores and qualitative and quantitative single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) measures of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF).

 

 

The Differences between Blast-Induced and Sports-Related Brain Injuries

Abstract

Both blast-induced traumatic brain injury (TBI) and sports-related concussion are occasionally considered to have similar injury mechanisms by which repeated head impacts cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Patients with the two conditions experience comparable CTE symptoms, such as headache, light-headedness, memory loss, confusion, attention deficits, difficulty balancing, aggression, anxiety, depression, etc. (1). Another common feature is tau protein deposition around cerebral blood vessels in the frontal cortex (2, 3). However, it should be noted that these symptoms are non-specific, and can be the results of many different brain insults such as TBI, stroke, chemically induced neurotoxicity, infection by pathogenic microbes (HIV virus, bacteria, etc.), brain tumors, and neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS, Huntingtons, etc.). Abnormal or hyper-phosphorylated tau protein deposition is also non-specific and represents only disruption and dysfunction of microtubules in neuronal cells that are experiencing progressive death and degeneration. Therefore, having similar mental symptoms and tau protein deposition in the same regions of the brain does not conclude that the same basic injury mechanism existed in both blast-induced and sports-related brain injuries.

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