title: Significant Improvement in Cognition in Mild to Moderately Severe Dementia Cases Treated with Transcranial Plus Intranasal Photobiomodulation: Case Series Report.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated whether patients with mild to moderately severe dementia or possible Alzheimer's disease (AD) with Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) Baseline scores of 10-24 would improve when treated with near-infrared photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Animal studies have presented the potential of PBM for AD. Dysregulation of the brain's default mode network (DMN) has been associated with AD, presenting the DMN as an identifiable target for PBM.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study used 810 nm, 10 Hz pulsed, light-emitting diode devices combining transcranial plus intranasal PBM to treat the cortical nodes of the DMN (bilateral mesial prefrontal cortex, precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex, angular gyrus, and hippocampus). Five patients with mild to moderately severe cognitive impairment were entered into 12 weeks of active treatment as well as a follow-up no-treatment, 4-week period. Patients were assessed with the MMSE and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog) tests. The protocol involved weekly, in-clinic use of a transcranial-intranasal PBM device; and daily at-home use of an intranasal-only device.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was significant improvement after 12 weeks of PBM (MMSE, p < 0.003; ADAS-cog, p < 0.023). Increased function, better sleep, fewer angry outbursts, less anxiety, and wandering were reported post-PBM. There were no negative side effects. Precipitous declines were observed during the follow-up no-treatment, 4-week period. This is the first completed PBM case series to report significant, cognitive improvement in mild to moderately severe dementia and possible AD cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that larger, controlled studies are warranted. PBM shows potential for home treatment of patients with dementia and AD.
authors.affiliation: 1 Saltmarche Health & Associates, Inc. , Orangeville, Ontario, Canada .
authors.forename: Anita E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Saltmarche
authors.affiliation: 2 VA Boston Healthcare System , Boston, Massachusetts.|3 Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Margaret A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Naeser
authors.affiliation: 4 STAT-TU, Inc. , Toronto, Ontario, Canada .
authors.forename: Kai Fai
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: 5 Harvard Medical School , Boston, Massachusetts.|6 Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hamblin
authors.affiliation: 7 Vielight, Inc. , Toronto, Ontario, Canada .
authors.forename: Lew
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; LED; LLLT; dementia; intranasal; photobiomodulation; transcranial