An article published in Laser Physics Letters says that light therapies such as photobiomodulation and photodynamics, combined with laser irradiation and negative pressure, have yielded positive results in the rehabilitation of patients with post-coronavirus complications, including muscles, joints, Patients with nerve, skin and lung injuries.
The research reported in this article was conducted in Brazil by the Fundamental Optics and Optics Applied to Life Sciences research groups of the Brazilian Center for Optics and Photonics Research (CEPOF) and the National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT). Vanderlei Bagnato, a professor at the San Carlos Institute of Physics at the University of São Paulo (IFSC-USP), led the optical research at CEPOF and INCT.
CEPOF is a Research, Innovation and Communication Centre (RIDC) supported by FAPESP and hosted by the University of Sao Paulo (USP).
The researchers' goal is to develop guidelines, build the infrastructure needed to treat post-coronavirus complications, and establish new patient care protocols that are appropriate for multidisciplinary teams. In particular, in the Laser Physics Letters article, they discuss care options for patients who are bedridden for long periods of time, require intubation, or have secondary respiratory infections such as bacterial pneumonia, all of which increase the risk of death.
[Post-COVID-19 complications affect multiple parts of the body. Some are sensory [altered taste and smell], muscles [fatigue], circulation and inflammation, especially in the respiratory system. Others are commonly seen in various infections such as tinnitus [ringing in the ears or hum] and facial paresthesia [numbness and tingling], as well as ulcers in bedridden patients. We wanted to show how certain techniques can treat these symptoms," Bagnato told Agência FAPESP.
In total, more than 20 professionals from different medical fields and parts of the state of São Paulo participated in the research conducted by CEOF.
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According to Bagnato, the benefits of combining light therapy with hybrid regenerative techniques include improving auditory symptoms in many recovered COVID-19 patients.