Light therapy may help treat Parkinson's disease.Byline: ANIWashington, June 23 (ANI): A new study from the University of Virginia Health System has shown that low level light therapy (LLLT LLLT Low Level Laser Therapy ) could help treat patients with Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism, degenerative brain disorder first described by the English surgeon James Parkinson in 1817. When there is no known cause, the disease usually appears after age 40 and is referred to as Parkinson's disease. . The in vitro in vitro /in vi·tro/ (in ve´tro) [L.] within a glass; observable in a test tube; in an artificial environment. in vi·tro adj. In an artificial environment outside a living organism. study, led by Patricia A. Trimmer trimmer see resco nail trimmer, toenail scissors. , PhD, associate professor of neurological research at the UVA School of Medicine, showed that a single, brief treatment with a 810 nm low level, near-infrared laser increased for two-hours the velocity of mitochondrial mitochondrial pertaining to mitochondria. mitochondrial RNAs a unique set of tRNAs, mRNAs, rRNAs, transcribed from mitochondrial DNA by a mitochondrial-specific RNA polymerase, that account for about 4% of the total cell RNA that movement in cells taken from patients with sporadic Parkinson's disease, speeding it up to levels comparable to cells from a disease-free, age-matched control group. "Our findings provide early-stage confirmation that LLLT has the potential to improve neuronal function in many patients with PD and other neurological diseases," says Trimmer. The researchers found that the most dysfunctional patient cells had the weakest response to LLLT. The therapy had no impact on healthy control group cells. Mitochondria are the cellular engines that transform food into fuel in our bodies and perform their work in the energy-intensive tissue of our brains, retinas, hearts and skeletal muscles. In patients with Parkinson's disease, mitochondria become metabolically and functionally compromised. Cells slow down, become ineffective in generating energy and over-produce oxygen free radicals. If produced in excess, oxygen free radicals chemically attack all cell components, including proteins, DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. and lipids in cell membranes. Trimmer pointed out that numerous investigational Parkinson's disease drugs have demonstrated efficacy in animal models but proven largely ineffective in humans. However, LLLT is already being used to treat a wide range of human conditions involving injury and inflammation. It has also been evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials as a way to ameliorate the consequences of stroke. The study has been published online by Molecular Neurodegeneration on June 17, 2009. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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