SynthesisJournal of biomedical optics2018
Review of light parameters and photobiomodulation efficacy: dive into complexity.
Synthesis in Journal of biomedical optics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 198 papers, 22 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
198 citing papers in PubMed, 22 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Clinical dosimetry and efficacy of LED photobiomodulation for chronic lower-limb wound healing: a systematic review of randomized trials.Lasers in medical science · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of photobiomodulation in the management of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw : a systematic review.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- Full-Spectrum phototherapy in hair loss management: a systematic review of wavelength-dependent mechanisms, clinical efficacy, and future directions.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review via text mining approaches of human and veterinary applications of photobiomodulation: focus on multiwave locked system laser therapy.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation treatment in incomplete spinal cord injuries or peripheral nerve injuries: a comprehensive systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the acute effects of photobiomodulation therapy on the maximum number of repetitions in resistance exercise in young adults.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- Effects and parameterization of low-level laser therapy in diabetic ulcers: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-umbrella.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of photobiomodulation therapy on Bell's palsy symptoms: a systematic review.Lasers in medical science · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of photobiomodulation in alveolar ridge preservation and implant stability after a dental extraction: a systematic review.Lasers in medical science · 2024Pooled it
- Adjunctive photobiomodulation to Basic Periodontal therapy using different low-power laser application techniques: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Lasers in medical science · 2024Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation in promoting increased Skin Flap Viability: a systematic review of animal studies.Lasers in medical science · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of photobiomodulation for prevention of oral mucositis on the quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer: a systematic review.Lasers in medical science · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of Transcranial Photobiomodulation on Depressive Symptoms: A Meta-Analysis.Photobiomodulation, photomedicine, and laser surgery · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of the invasive and non-invasive systemic photobiomodulation using low-level laser in experimental models: A systematic review.Lasers in medical science · 2023Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation: A Systematic Review of the Oncologic Safety of Low-Level Light Therapy for Aesthetic Skin Rejuvenation.Aesthetic surgery journal · 2023Pooled it
- The effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy on inferior alveolar nerve injury: A systematic review and META-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of photobiomodulation therapy on healing of ionizing irradiated bone: a systematic review of in vivo animal studies.Lasers in medical science · 2022Pooled it
- Deconstructing the Ergogenic Effects of Photobiomodulation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of its Efficacy in Improving Mode-Specific Exercise Performance in Humans.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation of gingival lesions resulting from autoimmune diseases: systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical oral investigations · 2022Pooled it
138 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy, previously known as low-level laser therapy, was discovered more than 50 years ago, yet there is still no agreement on the parameters and protocols for its clinical application. Some groups have recommended the use of a power density less than 100 mW/cm2 and an energy density of 4 to 10 J/cm2 at the level of the target tissue. Others recommend as much as 50 J/cm2 at the tissue surface. The wide range of parameters that can be applied (wavelength, energy, fluence, power, irradiance, pulse mode, treatment duration, and repetition) in some cases has led to contradictory results. In our review, we attempt to evaluate the range of effective and ineffective parameters in PBM. Studies in vitro with cultured cells or in vivo with different tissues were divided into those with higher numbers of mitochondria (muscle, brain, heart, nerve) or lower numbers of mitochondria (skin, tendon, cartilage). Graphs were plotted of energy density against power density. Although the results showed a high degree of variability, cells/tissues with high numbers of mitochondria tended to respond to lower doses of light than those with lower number of mitochondria. Ineffective studies in cells with high mitochondrial activity appeared to be more often due to over-dosing than to under-dosing.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.