One in 20 of us is being treated for diabetes according to Diabetes UK which also estimates 850,000 of us have the condition and don’t know it. One of the most common complications associated with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes is delayed wound healing. Wound healing can be slowed when the patient is diabetic. An important point to remember about a diabetic patient wound is that it heals slowly and can worsen rapidly, so requires close monitoring. If left untreated, wounds can lead to infection, amputation, and even death. In fact, diabetes is a leading cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputation.
A number of clinical studies have been published that show the laser-therapy can have a significant effect on wound healing. Here are some of the study highlights:
Phototherapy Promotes Healing of Chronic Diabetic Leg Ulcers That Failed to Respond to Other Therapies
“ulcers healed rapidly; achieving 56% more granulation and 79.2% faster healing by day 30, and maintaining similarly higher rates of granulation and healing over the ‘placebo’ group all through. By day 90, 58.3% of group two ulcers had healed fully and 75% had achieved 90–100% healing. In contrast, only one ‘placebo’ treated ulcer healed fully by day 90; no other ulcer attained 90% healing… Combined 660 and 890nm light promotes rapid granulation and healing of diabetic ulcers that failed to respond to other forms of treatment.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19588536
Laser therapy converts diabetic wound healing to normal healing.
In this induced-diabetes model, wound and burn healing were improved by 40.3% and 45%, respectively, in 633-nm laser dosimetry experiments, and diabetic wound and burn healing was accelerated by phototherapy. This indicates that the healing rate was normalized in the phototherapy-treated diabetic rats. In view of these interesting findings, 633-nm laser therapy given three times per week at 4.71 J/cm(2) per dose for diabetic burns, and three times per week at 2.35 J/cm(2) per dose for diabetic wound healing are recommended as actual doses for human clinical trials, especially after major surgery in those with impaired healing, such as diabetics and the elderly.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19193104
Effects of laser irradiation on the release of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and receptor of IGF-1 (IGFBP3) from gingival fibroblasts.
In both of the laser groups, LLLT increased the cell proliferation and cell viability. The results of this study showed that LLLT increased the proliferation of HGF cells and release of bFGF, IGF-1, and IGFBP3 from these cells. LLLT may play an important role in periodontal wound healing and regeneration by enhancing the production of the growth factors.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17619941
Effect of low-intensity laser therapy on mast cell degranulation in human oral mucosa.
The degranulation indexes of the mast cells observed in the irradiated samples were significantly higher than those of controls (P < 0.05). LILT with the parameters used increased the number of degranulated mast cells in oral mucosa.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18084808
The efficacy of laser therapy in wound repair: a meta-analysis of the literature.
The overall mean effect of laser therapy on wound healing was highly significant (d = +2.22)…. The analysis further revealed significant positive effects on specific indices of healing, for example, acceleration of inflammation (d = +4.45); augmentation of collagen synthesis (d = +1.80); increased tensile strength (d = +2.37), reduced healing time (d = +3.24); and diminution of wound size (d = +0.55). We conclude that laser therapy is an effective tool for promoting wound repair.