Facial nerve palsy is one of the most common diseases in head and neck lesions, and affected patients suffer from facial disfigurement and dysfunction. Since 1980, we have been applying low reactive level laser therapy (LLLT) for patients with facial paralysis. We report herein on the results of a retrospective study concerning those patients in whom LLLT has been applied for peripheral facial paralysis. Seventy-four patients (42 male and 32 female) received LLLT for various entities of facial paralysis over the past 28 years, and included 50 cases with idiopathic facial paralysis, 9 cases with Ramsay-Hunt syndrome, 8 cases of facial and neck tumor, and 7 cases of facial trauma.
The overall total improvement rate was 71.4%. No adverse effects were reported in the patients received LLLT for facial paralysis. Among the 4 diagnostic groups, there was no difference in the mean improvement rate. In all patients whose treatment was given within one month of onset was obtained a complete recovery within 4 months. The longer was the period between onset to starting the treatment, the longer was the required therapeutic period. LLLT was effective for facial paralysis in both the acute and chronic phase. LLLT was particularly effective for the acute phase patients whose onset before treatment was 1 month or less. During the period of between 2 months and 6 months from onset, when the injured nerve had the possibility of recovery, LLLT should be performed. In the chronic phase, during the period of over 6 months from onset, LLLT can improve the synkinesis and contracture of the facial muscle. This study is the first report about LLLT for a wide variety of facial paresis. It is not a randomized control study, however, and further study is warranted in order to assess both the efficacy and possible LLLT mechanisms in detail.

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We used low level laser therapy (LLLT) to treat peripheral facial palsy patients and investigated its efficacy. We studied 23 cases with Bell’s palsy (11 male and 12 female ages ranging from 21 to 82 years with an average of 51.7 years). They visited the rehabilitation department of our university hospital between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2006. We used a 1 watt semiconductor laser device.
The stellate ganglion was irradiated with the laser three times for 30 seconds (90 seconds total).
LLLT was performed twice a week. We evaluated the therapeutic effects with Yanagihara’s method after 2 months of treatment. The efficacy of the treatment was noted in 83% of our 23 cases .
Facilitation of blood circulation and nerve regeneration were considered to be the possible effective mechanisms of LLLT. On the other hand, why the effect was insufficient in 17% of our patients has to be further investigated.

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Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have attracted a lot of attention in light-only skin rejuvenation and wound healing with an 830 nm/633 nm combination, but the mechanisms by which LED therapy speeds up the healing process and increases collagen synthesis remain unclear. One hypothesis, ex-amined in the present study, concerns the interaction between 830 nm near infrared light and the degranulation of dermal mast cells. The left forearm of 8 healthy male subjects was irradiated with an 830 nm LED array (20 min, 57 J/cm²) with the right as the unirradiated control. Biopsies were taken before and two days after irradiation and routinely prepared for transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and compared between baseline, irradiated and unirradiated tissue. The TEM in all postirradiated specimens, while clearly showing no damage to the irradiated tissue with all tissue components essentially morphologically normal, demonstrated a mild inflammatory response 48 hr after 830 nm irradiation with interstitial and perivascular oedema. A number of macrophages and leukocytes had been recruited into the irradiated tissue, and mast cells had increased in number and had either degranulated or were in the process of doing so. The unirradiated control tissue showed no such changes. The TEM findings in the present study showed a clearly-visible inflammatory response similar to the first phase of wound healing, a ‘quasi-wound’, but created athermally and atraumatically following a single treatment with 830 nm light, thereby kick-starting the inflammatory stage of the wound healing process which is recognized as absolutely necessary in achieving good subsequent collagen synthesis in the second phase of proliferation, followed by good remodeling in the third phase. Good results in skin rejuvenation, both ablative and non-ablative, have been well-linked to establishing the wound healing process. The 830 nm-mediated ‘quasi-wound’ may well be an essential element in light-only LED photorejuvenation.
Furthermore, the action of 830 nm on the inflammatory cells in actual wounds will significantly accelerate the wound healing process, controlling and peaking inflammation, and allowing proliferation to occur sooner and more efficiently.

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Dizziness is a fairly common ailment. Symptoms among patients range from slight occasional discomfort to complete debilitation due to nausea and vomiting and deterioration of the affected patient’s activities of daily living (ADL). Treatment of dizziness varies according to its etiology, but is mostly pharmacological. The authors present a case where Low reactive Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) applied in the Proximal Priority Technique (PPT) was effective in controlling dizziness in a patient suffering from severe spells which occurred several times a week and which caused nausea and vomiting. The authors also retrospectively examine patient records in the Ohshiro Clinic. A total of 11 patients, including the patient in the present case report, report, have been treated for some form of dizziness, and the efficacy of LLLT for the treatment of dizziness is discussed.

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