Photobiomodulation in ocular therapy: current status and future perspectives.

Abstract

Photobiomodulation has been known to have potential medicinal effects for ages. It involves the use of specific wavelengths to target specific regions in the cell. Different health conditions have been reported to be treated with exposure to light such as cardiovascular conditions, inflammatory diseases, infectious diseases, and most importantly ocular diseases. This review specifically targets the treatment of retinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, myopia and acute retinal light injury with photobiomodulation. Red light is used in this therapy since this wavelength has lower frequency and hence minimal chance of causing any damage. Red light has the potential to penetrate cellular structures such as mitochondria and facilitate cellular processes. For ocular diseases, the target wavelength ranges between 630 to 800 nm. In most of the cases the primary target for red light is the cytochrome C oxidase enzyme in mitochondria, which alters the gene expression and promotes cellular energy production. Clinical evidence shows improvement of visual activity and reduction in thickness of retina post treatment. Future prospects of photobiomodulation involve target-specific treatment, combinational therapy to treat complex retinal diseases including gene therapy, and longitudinal studies to predict long-term efficacy and the chance of any recurrence in the patients. Hence the future of photobiomodulation holds significant potential in medicine especially in ocular diseases characterized by progress in research, technology, and clinical trials.