Transcranial Low-level Laser Therapy: a Novel Treatment for Depression

Abstract

As the second most serious disease worldwide, the etiology and pathogenesis of depression have not been clearly defined. Depression treatment faces a bottleneck, due to limitations of common therapies, such as side effects associated with drug therapy and high risk of recurrence after drug therapy, high requirements for clinicians to perform psychotherapy, and high cost of modalities and disorientation in physical therapy. Transcranial low-level laser, a new therapy has recently proven to be effective in scientific research and clinical antidepressant treatment, utilizes low-level laser non-invasively passing through the skull without causing damage to regulate biological tissues and protect neurons. Even though the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the therapy for depression are not yet clear, this non-drug therapy could be highly promising for depression treatment.

Keywords

• depressive disorder|low-level light therapy|low-level laser|mitochondrial|neurotransmitter|neuronal plasticity|neruroinflammation|review|therapy