ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2022
Photobiomodulation Therapy and the Glymphatic System: Promising Applications for Augmenting the Brain Lymphatic Drainage System.
Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 3 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
54 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations between the brain glymphatic system and mitochondrial (dys)function: a systematic review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Phototherapy of Alzheimer's Disease: Photostimulation of Brain Lymphatics during Sleep: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation improves depression symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- The Glymphatic System in Neurological Diseases: Mechanisms, Imaging Surrogates, and Translational Uncertainties.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2026Review
- Glymphatic Dysfunction and Aquaporin-4 Dysregulation in Traumatic Brain Injury and Brain Tumors: A Review.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- The glymphatic system in sleep: a nexus of waste clearance, brain homeostasis, and disease intervention.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- Meningeal lymphatic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease: molecular mechanisms, clinical implications, and future perspectives.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2026Review
- The Immune-Chemokine Axis in Alzheimer's Disease: Roles of Adaptive Immune System in Neuroinflammation and Disease Progression.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Optimizing Brain Biology Through Near-Infrared-Induced Mitochondrial Melatonin Synthesis: A Hypothesis Paper.Cureus · 2026Review
- Visual Perception Changes After Transcranial Photobiomodulation: Preliminary Eye-Tracking Study.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Article
- Amyloid-Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Neuro-lymphaphotonics opens new horizons of the future technologies for the therapy of brain diseases.Theranostics · 2026Review
- Alterations in the Cerebral Perivascular Space Network as a Potential Central Mechanism in Overactive Bladder: A Neuroimaging-Clinical Association Study.European urology open science · 2026Article
- Aerospace stressors and brain health in military aviators: a glymphatic-neurovascular framework.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- Non-invasive brain stimulation in frontotemporal dementia: syndrome-specific signals and priorities for future trials.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Review
- NO-ergic mechanisms of age differences in photostimulation of lymphatic drainage, filtration, and clearance.Biomedical optics express · 2025Article
- 1275-nm Photobiomodulation Alleviates Brain Drainage Impairment as a Promising Therapeutic Strategy for Aging-Related Neurological Decline.Aging cell · 2025Article
- Exploring photobiomodulation as a complementary approach for mental health: an integrative review.Lasers in medical science · 2025Review
- Cerebrospinal fluid draining lymphatics in health and disease: advances and controversies.Nature cardiovascular research · 2025Review
- The Therapeutic Potential of Glymphatic System Activity to Reduce the Pathogenic Accumulation of Cytotoxic Proteins in Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The glymphatic system is a glial-dependent waste clearance pathway in the central nervous system, devoted to drain away waste metabolic products and soluble proteins such as amyloid-beta. An impaired brain glymphatic system can increase the incidence of neurovascular, neuroinflammatory, and neurodegenerative diseases. Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy can serve as a non-invasive neuroprotective strategy for maintaining and optimizing effective brain waste clearance. In this review, we discuss the crucial role of the glymphatic drainage system in removing toxins and waste metabolites from the brain. We review recent animal research on the neurotherapeutic benefits of PBM therapy on glymphatic drainage and clearance. We also highlight cellular mechanisms of PBM on the cerebral glymphatic system. Animal research has shed light on the beneficial effects of PBM on the cerebral drainage system through the clearance of amyloid-beta via meningeal lymphatic vessels. Finally, PBM-mediated increase in the blood-brain barrier permeability with a subsequent rise in Aβ clearance from PBM-induced relaxation of lymphatic vessels via a vasodilation process will be discussed. We conclude that PBM promotion of cranial and extracranial lymphatic system function might be a promising strategy for the treatment of brain diseases associated with cerebrospinal fluid outflow abnormality.
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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.