Hi everyone. As flagged in an earlier post Taking my Health by the Horns, I recently purchased the Well Red Coronet, a helmet device which draws on Infrared and Near Infrared therapy or photobiomodulation therapy (if you want to be fancy).
I am neither a doctor nor a medical researcher but I thought it might be useful to outline a (very) basic understanding of the relevance of photobiomodulation to Parkinson's Disease. Go easy on me.
While the underlying causes of Parkinson's Disease remain unclear, some of the leading theories revolve around genetic and environmental factors including the the accumulation of Lewy bodies containing alpha-synculien. From what I can work out, the thinking is that these little buggers attack dopamine-producing neurons. Mitochondrial dysfunction and changes in the gut biome have also been identified as key environmental factors (Salehpour & Hamblin, 2020).
Red light therapy - which has been around for decades - is beneficial for mitochondria by reducing inflammation and improving mitochondrial function. The mitochondria are the energy powerhouse of our neurons (for a simple explanation see https://parkinsonsdisease.net/news/light-therapy-tool-managing-pd)
As a consequence, the use of red light therapy may help protect and repair neurons by improving mitochondrial function and help stimulate new neurons. Given Parkinson's is a degenerative condition, the more I can protect and maintain my dopamine-producing neurons the better!
So, here goes. Personally, I hope my use of the Coronet can reduce my physical and cognitive fatigue. If it can help improve my experience of pain then that would be a bonus :)
My first clip introduces you to the Well Red Coronet. I stress that I have not received any incentive from Well Red - I'm approaching this from a purely self-motivated perspective. I've got to say though, it's a pretty nifty looking unit. I thought this might be helpful because sometimes it's good to get a look at something before you cough up your cash...
My second clip shows you the Coronet fully set up. I hope you enjoy it!
I'll be adding updates over the coming weeks so stay tuned. And please - feel free to ask questions or make comments - it is so good to hear from others' experiences.
References
Some references are below. If you'd like to find out more, try https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Photobiomodulation
Hamblin, M. 2016. Shining light on the head: Photobiomodulation for brain disorders. BBA Clinical 6. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5066074/pdf/main.pdf
Mitrofanis J, Henderson LA. How and why does photobiomodulation change brain activity?. Neural Regen Res. 2020;15(12):2243-2244. doi:10.4103/1673-5374.284989
Salehpour, F., and Hamblin, M. 2020. Photobiomodulation for Parkinson's Disease in Animal Models: A Systematic Review. Biomolecules, 10(610). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7225948/
Thank you for sharing your journey with the coronet. I look forward to following along