Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39385144›Full record

ArticleBMC neurology2024

Improvements in clinical signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease using photobiomodulation: a five-year follow-up.

Ann Liebert, Brian Bicknell, E-Liisa Laakso, Sharon Tilley, Gillian Heller, Hosen Kiat, Geoffrey Herkes

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC neurology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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  5. The cribriform plate: A dynamic central nervous system-immune hub.The Journal of experimental medicine · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Ann LiebertSydney Adventist Hospital, Wahroonga, Australia. ann.liebert@sydney.edu.au.
Brian BicknellNICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead, Australia.
E-Liisa LaaksoMater Research Institute, University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Australia.
Sharon TilleyLymphoedema and Laser Therapy, Stepney, Australia.
Gillian HellerNHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia.
Hosen KiatNICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead, Australia.
Geoffrey HerkesSydney Adventist Hospital, Wahroonga, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundParkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by clinical motor signs and non-motor symptoms that severely impact quality of life. There is an urgent need for therapies that might slow, halt or even reverse the progression of existing symptoms or delay the onset of new symptoms. Photobiomodulation is a therapy that has shown potential to alleviate some symptoms of Parkinson's disease in animal studies and in small clinical trials.

objectiveTo assess long-term effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy in a cohort of Parkinson's disease individuals after five years of continuing therapy.

methodsEight participants of the initial 12 in a previously published study agreed to be reassessed after five years. Seven of these participants had continued home-based, self-applied photobiomodulation therapy three times per week for five years. One participant had discontinued treatment after one year. Participants were assessed for a range of clinical motor signs, including MDS-UPDRS-III, measures of mobility and balance. Cognition was assessed objectively, and quality of life and sleep quality were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. A Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was used to evaluate change in outcome measures between baseline (before treatment) and after five years, with the alpha value set to 0.05.

resultsOf the seven participants who had continued photobiomodulation therapy, one had a preliminary diagnosis of multisystem atrophy and was excluded from the group analysis. For the remaining six participants, there was a significant improvement in walk speed, stride length, timed up-and-go tests, tests of dynamic balance, and cognition compared to baseline and nonsignificant improvements in all other measures, apart from MDS-UPDRS-III, which was unchanged and one measure of static balance (single leg stance, standing on the unaffected leg with eyes open) which declined. Five of six participants either improved or showed no decline in MDS-UPDRS-III score and most participants showed improvement or no decline in all other outcome measures. No adverse effects of the photobiomodulation therapy were reported.

conclusionsThis study provides a signal that photobiomodulation therapy might safely reduce important clinical motor signs and non-motor symptoms in some Parkinson's disease patients, with improvements maintained over several years. Home-based photobiomodulation therapy has the potential to complement standard therapies to manage symptoms and potentially delay Parkinson's symptom progression.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, registration number ACTRN12618000038291p, registered on 12/01/2018.

Indexed as

Low-Level Light TherapyParkinson DiseaseQuality of LifeAgedFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeCognitionMobilityMotor symptomsParkinson’s diseasePhotobiomodulationSense of smell

Identifiers

PMID39385144
PMCPMC11463085

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.