ALSUntangled #60: light therapy
Authors
Richard Bedlack, Department of Neurology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Paul Barkhaus, Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Ben Barnes, Department of Neurology, Augusta University Medical Center, Augusta, GA, USA.
Michael Bereman, Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Tulio Bertorini, Department of Neurology, Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Gregory Carter, Department of Neurology, St Lukes Rehabilitation Hospital, Chesterfield, MO, USA.
Jesse Crayle, Department of Neurology, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Sky Kihuwa-Mani, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Lloyd International Honors College, Greensboro, NC, USA.
Robert Bowser, Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA.Follow
Pamela Kittrell, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Christopher McDermott, Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Gary Pattee, Department of Neurology, Nebraska Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA.
Kristiana Salmon, Department of Neurology, McGill Centre for Research in Neuroscience, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Paul Wicks, Independent Consultant, United Kingdom.
Abstract
ALSUntangled reviews alternative and off-label treatments for people with ALS. Here we review light therapy. We show that it has theoretically plausible mechanisms, three flawed pre-clinical data, studies, and one incompletely documented case report supporting its use. We explain why further studies are needed to determine whether any specific light therapy protocol can help people with ALS.
Keywords
Light, alternative therapy, energy, epidemiology, ethics, therapy
Publication Date
3-9-2021
Publication Title
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1080/21678421.2021.1883668
Recommended Citation
Bedlack, Richard; Barkhaus, Paul; Barnes, Ben; Bereman, Michael; Bertorini, Tulio; Carter, Gregory; Crayle, Jesse; Kihuwa-Mani, Sky; Bowser, Robert; Kittrell, Pamela; McDermott, Christopher; Pattee, Gary; Salmon, Kristiana; and Wicks, Paul, "ALSUntangled #60: light therapy" (2021). Translational Neuroscience. 1035.
https://scholar.barrowneuro.org/neurobiology/1035
