ABSTRACT
In the early 1970s, Endre Mester reported that ruby laser treatment accelerated healing of burn wounds in mice (Mester, Ludany, and Seller 1968). Since then, a growing body of evidence has shown that low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is potentially beneficial for wounds of a variety of etiologies. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that LLLT affects almost every molecular aspect of wound healing including increasing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels (Karu 1999; Pastore et al. 1996); promotion of proliferation and migration of keratinocytes (Fushimi et al. 2012; Grossman et al. 1998), endothelial cells (Chen, Hung, and Hsu 2008; Kipshidze et al. 2001; Schindl et al. 2003), and fibroblasts (Hawkins and Abrahamse 2006; Houreld and Abrahamse 2007); increasing collagen synthesis (Labbe et al. 1990; Prabhu et al. 2012; Saperia et al. 1986); enhancing phagocytic and bactericidal activities of inflammatory cells (Duan et al. 2001; Hemvani, Chitnis, and Bhagwanani 2005; Kupin et al. 1982); and modulation of expression and secretion of relevant chemokines and cytokines (Peplow et al. 2011a). LLLT has been shown to positively affect the three principal phases of healinginflammation, proliferation, and maturation-in acute wounds (Carvalho et al. 2010; Gal et al. 2006) as well as chronic wounds, and improves tensile strength (Yasukawa et al. 2007). Although the experimental evidence is sound, the efficacy of LLLT in the clinical setting is still controversial, showing mixed results. Nevertheless, since LLLT has a few contraindications and no reported side effects, the lure of this potentially useful treatment option has been hard to resist. Moreover, the marketing of a
variety of user-friendly devices has paralleled the great increase in numbers and scope of published clinical studies.
