If Light Could Help: The Use of Transcranial Photobiomodulation in Parkinson’s Disease. A Controlled Clinical Study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate whether a 4-week phys-iotherapeutic rehabilitation combined with transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) treatment is more effective than the only motor rehabilitation and if the improvement persists at 1-month follow-up. Methods: We investigated 40 Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, divided into two different groups: a control group that underwent only physiotherapeutic rehabilitation and the experimental one that underwent physiotherapeutic rehabilitation combined with PBM treatment. Outcome measures were UPDRS Part I, Part II and Part III. Patients were evaluated at admission, at the end of 4-week treatment and at 1 month follow up. Results: All outcome measures improved for each group, but significantly improved at the end of treatment for the experimental group not only related to motor symptoms but also to everyday struggle. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the combination of PBM treat-ment with physiotherapeutic rehabilitation was effective in improving motor symptoms in PD patients and the improvement in balance, gait and tremor were partially maintained after 1 month.