title: Red/near-infrared irradiation therapy for treatment of central nervous system injuries and disorders.
abstract: Irradiation in the red/near-infrared spectrum (R/NIR, 630-1000 nm) has been used to treat a wide range of clinical conditions, including disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), with several clinical trials currently underway for stroke and macular degeneration. However, R/NIR irradiation therapy (R/NIR-IT) has not been widely adopted in clinical practice for CNS injury or disease for a number of reasons, which include the following. The mechanism/s of action and implications of penetration have not been thoroughly addressed. The large range of treatment intensities, wavelengths and devices that have been assessed make comparisons difficult, and a consensus paradigm for treatment has not yet emerged. Furthermore, the lack of consistent positive outcomes in randomised controlled trials, perhaps due to sub-optimal treatment regimens, has contributed to scepticism. This review provides a balanced précis of outcomes described in the literature regarding treatment modalities and efficacy of R/NIR-IT for injury and disease in the CNS. We have addressed the important issues of specification of treatment parameters, penetration of R/NIR irradiation to CNS tissues and mechanism/s, and provided the necessary detail to demonstrate the potential of R/NIR-IT for the treatment of retinal degeneration, damage to white matter tracts of the CNS, stroke and Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia. lindy.fitzgerald@uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Melinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hodgetts
authors.forename: Corinna
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Van Den Heuvel
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Natoli
authors.forename: Nathan S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: Krisztina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Valter
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vink
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Provis
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Dunlop
mesh_terms: D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020196:Trauma, Nervous System / Q000532:radiotherapy*