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Light therapy is certainly having a surge in popularity. There are now available glowing gadgets for everything from complexion problems and aging signs as well as aching tissues and oral inflammation, the latest being a toothbrush outfitted with miniature red light sources, marketed by the company as “a major advance in personal mouth health.” Worldwide, the sector valued at $1bn last year is expected to increase to $1.8bn within the next decade. Options include full-body infrared sauna sessions, where instead of hot coals (real or electric) heating the air, your body is warmed directly by infrared light. As claimed by enthusiasts, the experience resembles using an LED facial mask, stimulating skin elasticity, soothing sore muscles, alleviating inflammatory responses and chronic health conditions while protecting against dementia.

The Science and Skepticism

“It feels almost magical,” notes a Durham University professor, professor in neuroscience at Durham University and a convert to the value of light therapy. Naturally, we know light influences biological functions. Sunlight helps us make vitamin D, crucial for strong bones, immune defense, and tissue repair. Light exposure controls our sleep-wake cycles, too, activating brain chemicals and hormonal responses in daylight, and preparing the body for rest as darkness falls. Daylight-simulating devices are a common remedy for people with seasonal affective disorder (Sad) to boost low mood in winter. So there’s no doubt we need light energy to function well.

Types of Light Therapy

While Sad lamps tend to use a mixture of light frequencies from the blue end of the spectrum, consumer light therapy products mostly feature red and infrared emissions. In rigorous scientific studies, such as Chazot’s investigations into the effects of infrared on brain cells, finding the right frequency is key. Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, extending from long-wavelength radiation to high-energy gamma radiation. Therapeutic light application utilizes intermediate light frequencies, with ultraviolet representing the higher energy invisible light, then visible light (all the colours we see in a rainbow) and then infrared (which we can see with night-vision goggles).

UV light has been used by medical dermatologists for many years for addressing long-term dermatological issues like vitiligo. It works on the immune system within cells, “and reduces inflammatory processes,” says Dr Bernard Ho. “Considerable data validates phototherapy.” UVA reaches deeper skin layers compared to UVB, whereas the LEDs we see on consumer light-therapy devices (which generally deliver red, infrared or blue light) “typically have shallower penetration.”

Risk Assessment and Professional Supervision

The side-effects of UVB exposure, like erythema or pigmentation, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – indicating limited wavelength spectrum – which decreases danger. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, thus exposure is controlled,” explains the dermatologist. And crucially, the light sources are adjusted by technical experts, “to ensure that the wavelength that’s being delivered is fit for purpose – different from beauty salons, where it’s a bit unregulated, and we don’t really know what wavelengths are being used.”

Commercial Products and Research Limitations

Red and blue LEDs, he notes, “don’t have strong medical applications, though they might benefit some issues.” Red light devices, some suggest, help boost blood circulation, oxygen utilization and dermal rejuvenation, and activate collagen formation – a key aspiration in anti-ageing effects. “Research exists,” comments the expert. “However, it’s limited.” Regardless, with numerous products on the market, “it’s unclear if device outputs match study parameters. Optimal treatment times are unknown, ideal distance from skin surface, if benefits outweigh potential risks. Numerous concerns persist.”

Specific Applications and Professional Perspectives

Initial blue-light devices addressed acne bacteria, a microbe associated with acne. Scientific backing remains inadequate for regular prescription – even though, notes the dermatologist, “it’s often seen in medical spas or aesthetics practices.” Individuals include it in their skincare practices, he says, but if they’re buying a device for home use, “we recommend careful testing and security confirmation. Unless it’s a medical device, the regulation is a bit grey.”

Advanced Research and Cellular Mechanisms

At the same time, in innovative scientific domains, Chazot has been experimenting with brain cells, 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 states. Multiple claimed advantages have created skepticism toward light treatment – that results appear unrealistic. Yet, experimental evidence has transformed his viewpoint.

Chazot mostly works on developing drug treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, though twenty years earlier, a doctor developing photonic antiviral treatment consulted his scientific background. “He developed equipment for cellular and insect experiments,” he explains. “I was quite suspicious. It was an unusual wavelength of about 1070 nanometres, which most thought had no biological effect.”

The advantage it possessed, however, was its efficient water penetration, meaning it could penetrate the body more deeply.

Cellular Energy and Neurological Benefits

Growing data suggested infrared influenced energy-producing organelles. These organelles generate cellular energy, generating energy for them to function. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, even within brain tissue,” notes the researcher, who concentrated on cerebral applications. “It has been shown that in humans this light therapy increases blood flow into the brain, which is always very good.”

With 1070 treatment, mitochondria also produce a small amount of a molecule known as reactive oxygen species. In limited quantities these molecules, says Chazot, “triggers guardian proteins that maintain organelle health, protect cellular integrity and manage defective proteins.”

All of these mechanisms appear promising for treating a brain disease: free radical neutralization, swelling control, and pro-autophagy – autophagy representing cellular waste disposal.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

The last time Chazot checked the literature on using the 1070 wavelength on human dementia patients, he says, several hundred individuals participated in various investigations, incorporating his preliminary American studies