Ablative and nonablative skin rejuvenation procedures with lasers and intense pulsed light (IPL) systems have become very popular for photorejuvenating sun- and chronologically aged skin. Both procedures demand deposition of heat damage in the upper dermis.Anew generation of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with laser-like wavebands and phototherapeutically useful output powers are now reported to be successful for noninvasive athermal photorejuvenation of age-damaged skin. This study was designed to examine the ultrastructural changes induced by irradiation of human skin with visible red LED energy. Six adult male volunteers who satisfied all study criteria had the skin over their fibula irradiated once per week for 8 weeks with a visible red LED-based system at an irradiance of 105 mW/cm², 15 min/session and a radiant flux of 94 J/cm². Skin punch biopsies taken from each subject after the second and eighth treatment sessions were routinely prepared for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and were examined under an electron microscope. After the 2nd session, the skin showed normal undamaged tissue with slight interstitial edema and vimentin filaments notable in fibroblasts. After the 8th session, the number of fibroblasts in the dermis had increased with numerous vimentin filaments in their cytoplasm, and a mild inflammatory infiltration could be seen. The ultrastructure of human skin after 8 LED phototherapy sessions showed no damage-related abnormalities. Mild athermally-mediated inflammation was seen together with an increased fibroblast count and enhanced metabolism, which could be related to the enhanced synthesis of collagen and which in facial skin would probably result in an improved skin appearance.

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The objective of our work was to study the photobiomodulatory effects of low level laser therapy in addition to classic treatment of various periodontal diseases. Low level laser therapy is commonly used with good results in many medical domains, but the underlying mechanisms have not entirely been elucidated and ‘gold standard’ optimum working protocols have not yet been established in dentistry. The laser beam parameters and the application techniques are very important, as the clinical results depend entirely upon them. The bleeding time, pain relief time, and the bone recovery time in the treatment of periodontal disease were measured, and other non-quantifiable results (e.g. reduction of inflammation and oedema) were followed in two groups: the control group who underwent classic treatment of periodontal diseases, and the experimental group where LLLT was applied in addition to the classic treatment. In all cases, the measured parameters were less severe or shorter for the experimental group then for the control group. Very good results were obtained for the patients suffering from diabetes. In conclusion, in all cases, LLLT as adjunctive therapy to classical treatment led to better results in the treatment of periodontal diseases, but the results also depended upon the age and general health of the patients, and existence of any metabolic problems.

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This study assesses successively the changes in gross movement by hospital treatment with intensive functional training for 1-2 months according to the objective assessment criteria, the gross motor function measure (GMFM), which is commonly accepted as the global standard. Intensive functional training was carried out on its own in institutions other than the principal author’s, or together with low reactive-level IR diode laser therapy (LLLT) in the Shinano Handicapped Children’s Hospital, and the efficacy of the two approaches was compared. The severity of the disease was classified according to the gross motor function classification system (GMFCS). When the development of motor function was compared separately by disease severity with the cross-sectional motor growth curve, in the cases of the GMFCS level III a significant improvement was observed in patients of up to around age 8 . A significant improvement was observed inpatients of up to around 8 years old, especially up to 3 years old, when compared with the cross-sectional motor growth curve even when the GMFCS level was IV. When compared with patients at other rehabilitation and training sites, where only functional training therapy was applied without LLLT, the efficacy of intensive functional training was clearly enhanced in combination with LLLT.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate red light-emitting diode (LED) therapy to assist wound healing and pain attenuation following Er:YAG ablation of plantar verrucae. Over the past two-and-a-half years, the principal author (MAT) has treated 141 cases of plantar warts under local anesthesia in 133 patients with Er:YAG laser ablation followed by red light therapy to assist wound healing. The Er:YAG laser (29 J/cm², 2.0 J/pulse, 350 μs pulsewidth, 3 mm collimated handpiece) is used first to precisely ablate the verrucous tissue till normal architecture is seen. Immediately after treatment a red LED therapy system is applied (633 nm, 20 min, 126 J/cm²) to the wound and surrounding area. LED therapy at the same parameters is repeated on postoperative days 2, 3, 6 and 10. A representative plantar verruca case is presented. Following precise and clean ablation of the plantar verrucae with clear margins into normal skin architecture with the Er:YAG system, minimal secondary thermal damage is seen: the LED system is then immediately used at the above parameters. After the first treatment session, patients are usually able to walk normally without any pain, even those who have bilateral verrucae, and no exudate is usually seen from postoperative day 3 and thereafter, which is in the authors’ experience completely different from cases treated with laser ablation only, whether CO₂ or Er:YAG. By postoperative day 6 the wounds have shrunk noticeably and are filled with healthy granulation tissue, and by day 15 they have usually completely healed with minimal scarring. At the 12-month follow-up recurrence rates have been less than 8% (11/141). From the authors’ experience in 141 cases, visible red LED therapy has given excellent and pain-free healing in these difficult-to-treat lesions with very low recurrence rates following Er:YAG laser precise and speedy ablation of plantar verrucae with minimal thermal damage to surrounding tissue.

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