Transcranial Low-level Laser Therapy: a Novel Treatment for Depression

doi:10.12114/j.issn.1007-9572.2022.0688

Abstract

Abstract:

As the second most serious disease worldwide, the etiology and pathogenesis of depression have not been clearly defined. Depression treatment faces a bottleneck, due to limitations of common therapies, such as side effects associated with drug therapy and high risk of recurrence after drug therapy, high requirements for clinicians to perform psychotherapy, and high cost of modalities and disorientation in physical therapy. Transcranial low-level laser, a new therapy has recently proven to be effective in scientific research and clinical antidepressant treatment, utilizes low-level laser non-invasively passing through the skull without causing damage to regulate biological tissues and protect neurons. Even though the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the therapy for depression are not yet clear, this non-drug therapy could be highly promising for depression treatment.

Key words: Depressive disorder, Low-level light therapy, Low-level laser, Mitochondrial, Neurotransmitter, Neuronal plasticity, Neruroinflammation, Review, Therapy

摘要：

抑郁症作为全球第二大疾病，其病因及发病机制尚未完全明确，现多采用药物治疗、心理治疗和物理治疗等方法，但因药物治疗不良反应大、易复发，心理治疗存在对临床医生专业水平要求较高和物理治疗设备昂贵、定向障碍等缺陷，致使其治疗面临瓶颈。经颅低水平激光在科研实验及临床抗抑郁治疗中均被证明具有疗效。尽管该治疗方法分子及细胞机制尚未确切，但其以非侵入性方式通过颅骨，不对生物体产生损伤，具有光生物学调节效应，对神经元具有保护作用，可以作为一种创新的非药物疗法，为抗抑郁治疗提供新方向。

关键词: 抑郁症, 低强度光疗法, 低水平激光, 线粒体, 神经递质, 神经可塑性, 神经炎症, 综述, 治疗

LIANG Xuemei,WANG Rui,ZHAO Yuhuan, et al. Transcranial Low-level Laser Therapy: a Novel Treatment for Depression[J]. Chinese General Practice, 2023, 26(27): 3335-3341. DOI: 10.12114/j.issn.1007-9572.2022.0688.
梁雪梅,王睿,赵玉环等. 经颅低水平激光：一种治疗抑郁症的新方法[J]. 中国全科医学, 2023, 26(27): 3335-3341. DOI: 10.12114/j.issn.1007-9572.2022.0688.

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