Light-Based Therapy May Treat Thrombocytopenia
A low-intensity type of laser treatment may offer a non-invasive, drug-free treatment for thrombocytopenia — a potentially life-threatening shortage of the blood cells called platelets that are essential to blood clotting. In their paper appearing in Science Translational Medicine, a research team from the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reports that low-level laser therapy increased the generation of platelets from precursor cells called megakaryocytes (MKs) and had the same effect in several mouse models of the condition. They also identified the probable mechanism underlying this effect.
“Our study reveals for the first time that low-level laser therapy enhances platelet production in animals with thrombocytopenia, but not in normal controls,” says Mei X. Wu, PhD, of the Wellman Center at MGH, the senior author of the study. “This result suggests that a safe, drug-free method that does not depend on donated blood products can be developed for treating or preventing thrombocytopenia.”
Among the conditions that can lead to thrombocytopenia are certain types of leukemia, an autoimmune disorder that attacks platelets, and side-effects of certain drugs, including some used for chemotherapy. The most established treatment is platelet transfusion, which since it risks complications including infection, allergic reaction and immunosuppression is limited to the most severe cases. Dosage levels of the FDA-approved drugs that increase platelet levels must be precisely controlled to avoid excessive platelet production that raises the risk of dangerous blood clots.
SOURCE…www.sciencedaily.com