Help Us “Say Goodbye TBI”
We are seeking funding to continue the Foundation’s research on the clinical application of NILT.
Specifically, the funding will enable us to conduct a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study of near infrared light laser for the treatment of TBI. We plan to recruit 50 patients with TBI. Half will receive treatment with near infrared laser and the other half with receive treatment with a shame laser that looks exactly like the real laser device, but delivers no near infrared light to the patient. All the patients will undergo neuropsychological testing before treatment and after treatment. The testing will include self-assessment instruments, as well as established psychological tests for depression, cognitive function, anxiety, and other measures. All patients will receive a functional brain scan before and after treatment to allow targeted treatment of the brain injury and to further characterize the changes in brain function with treatment.
We are seeking funding to explore the clinical application of NILT in depression. We propose to utilize high-power (10-13 Watt) NILT to treat depression in a double-blind controlled study to determine if significant clinical and neurobiological improvement can be achieved. Patients with depression will be recruited, screened and enrolled. Informed consent will be obtained. Participants will complete a comprehensive neuropsychological battery for depression and to rule out TBI (TBI increases the likelihood of symptoms of depression by 600%). Study participants will undergo targeted NILT with a Class IV laser device. Controls will undergo sham laser treatment. One month following completion of the laser treatment, all subjects will be reassessed with neuropsychological testing to determine the efficacy of treatment. Psychological test results will serve as outcome measures. Those subjects found to have TBI will be offered the opportunity to participate in the above study of NILT for the treatment of TBI. This will prevent the loss of investment in recruitment and screening evaluation/neuroimaging, while contributing data to further our understanding of the potential applications of this treatment for TBI.
We are collaborating with colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital in the study of the treatment of PTSD and anxiety with NILT. We propose to utilize high-power (10-13 Watt) NILT to treat anxiety and PTSD in a parallel pair of double-blind controlled multi-center studies to determine if significant clinical and neurobiological improvement can be achieved. Patients with anxiety or PTSD will be recruited, screened and enrolled. Informed consent will be obtained. Participants will complete a comprehensive neuropsychological battery for anxiety, PTSD, depression, and to rule out TBI. Study participants will undergo a single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain scan to rule out TBI, based on recently published protocols by a research team including Dr. Henderson. Study participants will undergo targeted NILT with a Class IV laser device. Controls will undergo sham laser treatment. One month following completion of the laser treatment, all subjects will be reassessed with neuropsychological testing and SPECT brain scan to determine the efficacy of treatment. Psychological test results and quantitative analysis of the paired SPECT scans will serve as outcome measures. Those subjects found to have TBI will be offered the opportunity to participate in a parallel study of NILT for the treatment of TBI. This will prevent the loss of investment in recruitment and screening evaluation/neuroimaging, while contributing data to further our understanding of the potential applications of this treatment for TBI.
