Wyss Center for Bio and Neuro Engineering, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.
Sci Rep. 2023 Nov 14;13(1):19828. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-47039-2.
Photobiomodulation (PBM), the process of exposing tissue to red or near-infrared light, has become a topic of great interest as a therapy for diverse pathologies, including neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we aimed to evaluate the potential beneficial effect of PBM on Alzheimer's disease (AD) using behavioral and histological readouts from a well-established transgenic murine AD model (5xFAD mice) in a randomized and fully blinded long-term in-vivo study following GLP (Good Laboratory Practices) guidelines. The heads of the mice were illuminated with no (sham), low or high power 810 nm light, three times a week for 5 months from the first to the sixth month of life corresponding to the prodromal phase of the pathology. The results showed that there were no significant differences between the groups in behavioral tests, including the Morris water maze, novel object recognition, and Y-maze. Similarly, histological analyses showed no differences in amyloid load, neuronal loss or microglial response. In conclusion, under the conditions of our experiment, we were unable to demonstrate any therapeutic effect of PBM for AD. This study calls for further evidence and caution when considering PBM as an effective treatment for AD.
光生物调节（PBM），即将组织暴露于红色或近红外光下的过程，已成为治疗多种疾病（包括神经退行性疾病）的研究热点。在这里，我们旨在通过在遵循 GLP（良好实验室规范）准则的情况下，使用经过充分验证的转基因 AD 模型（5xFAD 小鼠）的行为和组织学读数，对 PBM 治疗 AD 的潜在有益效果进行评估。在 5 个月的时间内，从生命的第一个月到第六个月，每周三次，用无（假照）、低或高功率 810nm 光对小鼠头部进行照射，对应于病理的前驱期。结果表明，在行为测试中，包括 Morris 水迷宫、新颖物体识别和 Y 迷宫，各组之间没有显著差异。同样，组织学分析显示淀粉样蛋白负荷、神经元丢失或小胶质细胞反应没有差异。总之，在我们实验的条件下，我们无法证明 PBM 对 AD 有任何治疗作用。这项研究呼吁在考虑 PBM 作为 AD 有效治疗方法时，需要进一步的证据和谨慎。
