Liebert Ann, Bicknell Brian, Markman Wayne, Kiat Hosen
1Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
2Research and Governance, Adventist Hospital Group, Wahroonga, Australia.
Aging Dis. 2020 Dec 1;11(6):1352-1362. doi: 10.14336/AD.2020.0901. eCollection 2020 Dec.
COVID-19 is an evolving pandemic that has far reaching global effects, with a combination of factors that makes the virus difficult to contain. The symptoms of infection can be devastating or at the least very debilitating for vulnerable individuals. It is clear that the elderly are at most risk of the adverse impacts of the virus, including hospitalization and death. Others at risk are those with comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease and metabolic conditions and those with a hyper-excitable immune response. Treatment options for those with acute responses to the virus are limited and there is an urgent need for potential strategies that can mitigate these severe effects. One potential avenue for treatment that has not been explored is the microbiome gut/lung axis. In addition to those severely affected by their acute reaction to the virus, there is also a need for treatment options for those that are slow to recover from the effects of the infection and also those who have been adversely affected by the measures put in place to arrest the spread of the virus. One potential treatment option is photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy. PBM has been shown over many years to be a safe, effective, non-invasive and easily deployed adjunctive treatment option for inflammatory conditions, pain, tissue healing and cellular energy. We have also recently demonstrated the effectiveness of PBM to alter the gut microbiome. PBM therapy is worthy of consideration as a potential treatment for those most vulnerable to COVID-19, such as the elderly and those with comorbidities. The treatment may potentially be advantageous for those infected with the virus, those who have a slow recovery from the effects of the virus and those who have been denied their normal exercise/rehabilitation programs due to the isolation restrictions that have been imposed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
新冠病毒肺炎（COVID-19）是一场不断演变的大流行病，具有深远的全球影响，多种因素共同作用使得该病毒难以遏制。感染症状可能具有毁灭性，或者至少会使弱势群体极度虚弱。显然，老年人受该病毒不利影响的风险最大，包括住院和死亡。其他风险人群包括患有心血管疾病和代谢疾病等合并症的人以及免疫反应过度活跃的人。针对病毒急性反应患者的治疗选择有限，迫切需要能够减轻这些严重影响的潜在策略。尚未探索的一种潜在治疗途径是肠道/肺部微生物群轴。除了那些因对病毒的急性反应而受到严重影响的人之外，对于那些从感染影响中恢复缓慢的人以及那些因控制新冠病毒肺炎大流行而实施的隔离措施受到不利影响的人，也需要治疗选择。一种潜在的治疗选择是光生物调节（PBM）疗法。多年来，PBM已被证明是一种安全、有效、非侵入性且易于实施的辅助治疗方法，可用于治疗炎症、疼痛、组织愈合和细胞能量问题。我们最近还证明了PBM改变肠道微生物群的有效性。PBM疗法值得作为一种潜在治疗方法加以考虑，用于那些最易感染新冠病毒肺炎的人群，如老年人和患有合并症的人。这种治疗可能对病毒感染者、从病毒影响中恢复缓慢的人以及那些由于为控制新冠病毒肺炎大流行而实施的隔离限制而无法进行正常锻炼/康复计划的人具有潜在益处。
