Therapeutic effect of near infrared (NIR) light on Parkinson's disease models. Front Biosci (Elite Ed) 2012 Jan 01;4(3):818-23
Date
12/29/2011Pubmed ID
22201916DOI
10.2741/E421Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84860842847 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 35 CitationsAbstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects large numbers of people, particularly those of a more advanced age. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in PD, especially in the electron transport chain. This mitochondrial role allows the use of inhibitors of complex I and IV in PD models, and enhancers of complex IV activity, such as NIR light, to be used as possible therapy. PD models fall into two main categories; cell cultures and animal models. In cell cultures, primary neurons, mutant neuroblastoma cells, and cell cybrids have been studied in conjunction with NIR light. Primary neurons show protection or recovery of function and morphology by NIR light after toxic insult. Neuroblastoma cells, with a gene for mutant alpha-synuclein, show similar results. Cell cybrids, containing mtDNA from PD patients, show restoration of mitochondrial transport and complex I and IV assembly. Animal models include toxin-insulted mice, and alpha-synuclein transgenic mice. Functional recovery of the animals, chemical and histological evidence, and delayed disease progression show the potential of NIR light in treating Parkinson's disease.
Author List
Quirk BJ, Desmet KD, Henry M, Buchmann E, Wong-Riley M, Eells JT, Whelan HTAuthors
Janis Eells PhD Professor in the Biomedical Sciences department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeBrendan J. Quirk PhD Research Scientist II in the Neurology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsCells, Cultured
Disease Models, Animal
Humans
Infrared Rays
Mice
Mice, Transgenic
Parkinson Disease
Phototherapy
