Abstract
Over the past year, eight patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) were treated with diode low reactive-level laser therapy (LLLT) with an output power of 60 mW at 830 nm, while a further nine cases of PHN were treated with 830 nm diode LLLT at an output power of 150 mW. The data were analyzed to compare the efficacy of the two regimens. Although all the patients were successfully treated, those patients who had received LLLT at 150 mW showed a quicker overall recovery from PHN when compared to those treated with 60 mW LLLT. No clinically significant adverse effect resulting from either of the two regimens was noted. Our results in this preliminary study suggest that 150 mW LLLT was a much more effective therapy than 60 mW LLLT for the treatment of PHN within the period tested. Further controlled and double blinded studies in larger populations will be required to corroborate these preliminary findings.
