Effectiveness of photobiomodulation for people with age-related cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AbstractThe increasing incident of age-related cognitive impairment worldwide and the lack of pharmaceutical treatments emphasizes the value of non-pharmaceutical therapy. Emerging evidence suggested photobiomodulation (PBM) is a popular intervention to brain disorder; however, it remains unclear the efficacy of PBM for patients with age-related cognitive impairment. The purpose of this systematic review is to compare the different parameters used in PBM, analyze the beneficial effects of PBM as a potential therapy for age-related cognitive impairment. Five electronic database, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, were systematically searched from inception to November 2021. Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were screened and assessed for risk of bias. Eleven RCTs evaluating PBM interventions were included. The systematic review and meta-analysis has been registered in PROSPERO(CRD42022374562). Results showed that PBM had a significant moderated effect on global cognition function (SMD=0.51, 95% CI [0.162, 0.864],p=0.004). We found that multiple wavelength PBM (SMD=0.648, 95% CI [0.220, 1.075],p=0.003) had significant effects while single wavelength PBM was non-significant (SMD=0.385, 95% CI [ −0.168, 0.987],p=0.172). Laser effect (SMD=0.682, 95% CI [0.37, 0,994],p<0.001) was larger than LED effect (SMD=0.582, 95% CI [0.269, 0.895],p<0.001). PBM in clinical setting (SMD=0.468, 95% CI [0.050, 0.887],p=0.028) had significant effect,...
Source: Lasers in Medical Science - Category: Laser Surgery Source Type: research