Effects of low power laser irradiation on bone healing in animals: a meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Purpose</p> <p>The meta-analysis was performed to identify animal research defining the effects of low power laser irradiation on biomechanical indicators of bone regeneration and the impact of dosage.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched five electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Database of Randomised Clinical Trials) for studies in the area of laser and bone healing published from 1966 to October 2008. Included studies had to investigate fracture healing in any animal model, using any type of low power laser irradiation, and use at least one quantitative biomechanical measures of bone strength. There were 880 abstracts related to the laser irradiation and bone issues (healing, surgery and assessment). Five studies met our inclusion criteria and were critically appraised by two raters independently using a structured tool designed for rating the quality of animal research studies. After full text review, two articles were deemed ineligible for meta-analysis because of the type of injury method and biomechanical variables used, leaving three studies for meta-analysis. Maximum bone tolerance force before the point of fracture during the biomechanical test, 4 weeks after bone deficiency was our main biomechanical bone properties for the Meta analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Studies indicate that low power laser irradiation can enhance biomechanical properties of bone during fracture healing in animal models. Maximum bone tolerance was statistically improved following low level laser irradiation (average random effect size 0.726, 95% CI 0.08 - 1.37, p 0.028). While conclusions are limited by the low number of studies, there is concordance across limited evidence that laser improves the strength of bone tissue during the healing process in animal models.</p

Laserterapia de baixa intensidade na expressão de colágeno após lesão muscular cirúrgica Low-level laser therapy in the expression of collagen after muscular surgical injury

A laserterapia é um procedimento utilizado em larga escala nas lesões musculoesqueléticas, devido as suas diversas propriedades, antiinflamatórias, cicatrizantes entre outras. Além disso, há tipos distintos de aparelhos de laser. Mesmo com os diversos modelos experimentais existentes na literatura, não há um consenso sobre a faixa de utilização, bem como o tipo de laser que promove melhor reparo no tecido muscular. Este estudo visa analisar os efeitos da laserterapia de baixa intensidade na expressão de colágeno após lesão muscular. Camundongos Swiss albinos (n=18) foram submetidos à lesão muscular cirúrgica e divididos em dois grupos, controle (C) e teste (T). Os animais foram submetidos a uma irradiação diária de 5 J/cm² pelos lasers AsGaAl 830 nm e AsGa 904 nm e, em diferentes tempos de sacrifício (7 e 14 dias). Os resultados não demonstraram diferença estatística significativa na expressão de colágeno em ambos os grupos analisados. Contudo, os dados apontam que a dose de 5 J/cm² do laser AsGa 904 nm promoveu maior deposição de fibras colágenas após 14 dias de tratamento, sugerindo que a terapia seja efetiva na síntese de colágeno. Outros estudos experimentais, em humanos, devem ser propostos para maiores inferências sobre os resultados do laser no tratamento da lesão muscular.<br>The laser therapy is a procedure utilized at long scale in the musculoskeletal injuries, due its anti-inflammatory and reparatory proprieties and others. Besides, there are differents types of laser equipments. Despites with the many experimental models at literature, there is no consensus about the range of application as well as the type of laser that promove of the best repair in muscular tissue. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of the low level laser therapy in the expression of collagen after muscular injury. Mice Swiss albinos (n=18) were subjected to the muscular surgical injury and separated in two groups, control (C) and test (T). The animals were submitted a daily radiation of 5 J/cm² for the lasers AsGaAl 830 nm and AsGa 904 nm and, in different times of sacrifice (7 and 14 days). The results didn't demonstrate significant statistical difference in the expression of collagen in both analyzed groups. However, the data appear that the dose of 5 J/cm² of the laser AsGa 904 nm promoted larger deposition of fibers collagens after 14 days of treatment, suggesting that the therapy is effective in the synthesis of collagen. Others studies will be proposed at humans to bigger inferences about the results of laser in the treatment muscular injury