Red light therapy gets the green light, sort of
Some users swear by the therapeutic regimen but its broad benefits are unclear.
Red-light therapy is getting the green light in some health circles, but it’s early yet to say whether that’s a good thing.
The treatment, a type of light therapy called photobiomodulation that involves exposing the body to low levels of red or near-infrared light, purports to help users lose weight, look younger and balance mood. It’s popping up everywhere from hotel spas to European beehives.
While research shows some promise in certain areas such as dermatology, it’s too soon to say it clearly provides health benefits more broadly — despite the many products being sold that seem to suggest otherwise.
“To sell photobiomodulation now is to put the commercial cart in front of the evidence,” says Jonathan Jarry, a science communicator at McGill University’s Office for Science and Society.
Bodies, brains and bees
In a study on cancer patients, researchers at the University at Buffalo found that red and near-infrared light therapies reduced side effects of radiation therapy, including skin damage and inflammation. Dr Praveen Arany, an associate professor of oral biology who led the research and founded a biotechnology company to develop light-therapy devices, believes there is evidence to suggest the treatment can improve immune response.
In a clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital, patients with mood and cognitive disorders are also testing the treatment. Varying doses to the forehead have helped patients with depression find relief from the common side effects of antidepressants, says Dr Paolo Cassano, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the photobiomodulation clinic.
Red light is thought to work by penetrating the skin’s surface and boosting brain cells’ energy, oxygen and blood flow to help them fire faster, he says.
“It’s similar to what you see with physical activity,” says Cassano, who also founded a biotech company to develop photobiomodulation devices. “You’re pumping more oxygen and more nutrients to the brain.”
Glen Jeffery, a professor at University College London’s Institute of Ophthalmology whose lab focuses on age-related eye disease, ran a study in patients with normal blood-sugar levels that found red-light therapy on their backs led to reductions in peak blood-sugar levels compared with the control group.
The impact appeared minimal compared with something like exercise, says Minisha Sood, an endocrinologist and obesity-medicine doctor in New York City, who wasn’t involved with the study. Still, she said, she might recommend the treatment for patients who are immobile or struggle with physical activity.
In Oslo, Christophe Brod, chief executive of beekeeping technology company Beefutures, who was inspired by some of Jeffery’s work, asked him to collaborate on research investigating whether red light could help bees be healthier and more productive in the face of growing stressors, from pesticides to climate change.
The red-light bees lived longer and recovered better from pesticide exposure and extreme weather. They also produced honey of a darker colour, suggesting they may have flown further to different crops, says Brod, who is now developing a commercial red-light product that can be inserted into hives.
Weighing the evidence
Many of the research findings on red-light therapy are in animals, and those don’t always translate to people. The studies in people tend to have small sample sizes and lack clear, standardised parameters around factors such as treatment duration and dosage, says Jarry, who holds a master’s degree in molecular biology. That can make the findings difficult to compare or replicate.
Tom O’Brien, who sustained a traumatic brain injury after a crane collapsed onto a parked car he was sitting in in 2016, started infrared and near-infrared light therapy with Cassano at Massachusetts General Hospital last year. O’Brien says that while other treatments didn’t seem to help, he started feeling happier and more energetic, and the pressure in his head eased, after trying photobiomodulation.
“The LED light therapy lit a fire of recovery in my brain and my body,” he says. “The spark that was me has returned.”
Red-light therapy is generally considered safe. Some photobiomodulation devices have been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration.
For many who look at the limited downsides, the question is simply: why not? The biggest potential cost may be financial: panels and masks can go for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Buyer beware
That said, not all devices are created equal, and there aren’t established standards for wavelength, intensity and length of treatment. The most commonly studied wavelength is 660 nanometres, researchers say, making it a good one for consumers to look for.
“It’s the wild west out there,” says Jeffery. “There are so many companies that are willing to take vast sums of money from you for basically a couple of LEDs in a metal box.”
Checking that a product has been cleared by the FDA is a good place to start for safety.
It’s also possible the placebo effect contributes to the positive outcomes people report, scientists say. Look out for words like “cure” or assertions that photobiomodulation is some kind of magic bullet for all of your health woes.
“This is being used for everything, and that is usually not a good sign,” says Jarry. “If something is claimed to cure everything, it probably cures nothing.”
The Wall Street Journal
