title: Collagen birefringence in skin repair in response to red polarized-laser therapy.
abstract: We use the optical path difference (OPD) technique to quantify the organization of collagen fibers during skin repair of full-thickness burns following low-intensity polarized laser therapy with two different polarization incidence vectors. Three burns are cryogenerated on the back of rats. Lesion L(parallel) is irradiated using the electric field vector of the polarized laser radiation aligned in parallel with the rat's occipital-caudal direction. Lesion L(perpendicular) is irradiated using the electric field vector of the polarized laser radiation aligned perpendicularly to the aforementioned orientation. Lesion C is untreated. A healthy area labeled H is also evaluated. The tissue samples are collected and processed for polarized light microscopy. The overall finding is that the OPD for collagen fibers depends on the electric field vector of the incident polarized laser radiation. No significant differences in OPDs are observed between L(parallel) and H in the center, sides, and edges of the lesion. Lesions irradiated using the electric field vector of the polarized laser radiation aligned in parallel with the rat's occipital-caudal direction show higher birefringence, indicating that collagen bundles in these lesions are more organized.
authors: IPEN-CNEN/SP , Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares-Comissão, Nacional de Energia Nuclear/SP, Centro de Lasers e Aplicações, CEP 05508-000, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. dftsilva@ipen.br
authors: Daniela de Fátima Teixeira
authors: Dde F
authors: da Silva
authors: Benedicto de Campos
authors: Bde C
authors: Vidal
authors: Denise Maria
authors: DM
authors: Zezell
authors: Telma Maria Tenório
authors: TM
authors: Zorn
authors: Silvia Cristina
authors: SC
authors: Núñez
authors: Martha Simões
authors: MS
authors: Ribeiro