Shining a light on cardiovascular aging

New study suggests light therapy may be effective at slowing cardiovascular aging, reducing age-related heart deterioration.

Light therapy has demonstrated its usefulness in treating a variety of diseases, from mental health through to psoriasis and acne. But can it delay the occurrence of age-related disease?

My take on this: It would seem the answer to that question might be yes. According to a study in mice published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy, a form of low-dose light therapy which has previously been noted to be effective in several age-associated chronic diseases such as hypertension and atherosclerosis, mitigated age-associated reduced cardiac function, improving neuromuscular coordination and increasing longevity.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year; almost 20% of Americans aged over 65 have been diagnosed with heart disease, and heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the US.

Praveen Arany, a University at Buffalo expert in PBM and Edward G Lakatta of the National Institute on Aging (part of the National Institutes of Health) examined the effects of PBM therapy on age-associated cardiovascular changes in a mouse model of accelerated cardiac aging.

“The idea was to see if intervention in middle age could enable people to avoid further age-related heart deterioration,” says Arany, associate professor of oral biology in the School of Dental Medicine, and co-PI with Lakatta on the study.

Learn more about cardiovascular aging and light therapy treatment, straight from Dr Arany, HERE .

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