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Photobiomodulation therapy in mood disorders: a systematic review

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Abstract

Mood disorders are common, debilitating and impose a high-cost burden on society. Side effects and resistance to psychiatric drugs justify finding new treatment methods. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) uses photons of light to repair, modulate and improve the function of target tissue. The purpose of this study is to systematically review the use of PBMT for the treatment of mood disorders and to identify the useful parameters of PBMT, the level of evidence of its effectiveness, and the degree of its practical recommendation. “Google scholar,” “Pub Med,” “Scopus,” and “Science direct” online databases were searched based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The human or animal studies written in English and published from January 2009 to August 2021 were included. Sixteen studies, which included four randomized controlled trials (RCTs), met the inclusion criteria. Infrared wavelength ranges from 800 to 830 nm, power density of 250 mW/cm2 and energy density of 60 to 120 J/ cm2 were the most used PBMT parameters. Bias risk assessment was performed to evaluate the quality of RCTs in which 2 out of 4 RCTs were evaluated as high quality. Based on grade practice recommendations, PBMT can be classified as strongly recommended for moderate grade of major depressive disorder (MDD) and recommended for anxiety disorder. In bipolar disorder, further studies are needed to recommend this therapeutic method.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate Iran University of Medical Sciences, Research & Technology Deputy for funding this work by Ph.D. students’ research program award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ENT and Head & Neck Research Center, The Five Senses Health Institute, School of Medicine, Iran University of medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Katayoon Montazeri, Mohammad Farhadi & Saeid Mahmoudian

  2. Radiation Sciences Research Center, Laser Research Center in Medical Sciences, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Fekrazad

  3. Eye Research Center, Rassoul Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Samira Chaibakhsh

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  1. Katayoon Montazeri
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  4. Samira Chaibakhsh
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  5. Saeid Mahmoudian
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Contributions

S. M., S. C., and K. M.: contributed in idea, conception, study design, acquisition collecting data, analysis or interpretation of data, and drafting the primary and finalized article. K. M.: writing, editing and reviewing the manuscript, the study was a part of KM PhD. Project, M. F. and R. F.: contributed in conception and study design from the aspect of clinical representations and interpretation of the results.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Samira Chaibakhsh or Saeid Mahmoudian.

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All named authors meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship for this article, take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, and have given their approval for this version to be published. “This article is based on previously conducted studies and does not contain any new studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.”

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Highlights

• PBMT has the ability to reduce neuroinflammation in mood disorders.

• PBMT has the ability to modulate imbalance between neurotransmitters.

• PBMT is strongly recommended for moderate grade of major depressive disorder.

• PBMT is recommended for treatment of anxiety disorder.

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Montazeri, K., Farhadi, M., Fekrazad, R. et al. Photobiomodulation therapy in mood disorders: a systematic review. Lasers Med Sci 37, 3343–3351 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-022-03641-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-022-03641-w

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