ABSTRACT

Transcranial near-infrared laser therapy (NILT) or low-level laser

(or light) therapy remains a promising noninvasive neuroprotective

method to treat acute ischemic stroke (AIS), despite the difficulties

observed with translation in clinical trials. Three clinical trials-

NeuroThera Effectiveness and Safety Trial (NEST)-1, NEST-2, and

NEST-3-have evaluated the use of NILT to promote clinical recovery

in patients with AIS; the results have been quite mixed. Can we

recover from this failure reminiscent of the SAINT clinical trial

failure?