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Laser Destroys Atherosclerosis Plaques

May 07, 2004

Russian medical professionals are trying to fight atherosclerosis by means of low-intensity infrared laser therapy. The relevant clinical tests are demonstrating successful results.

Atherosclerosis vascular diseases have become the principal cause of disability or death for the population of industrially developed countries. Atherosclerosis plaques cause stenosis of the vessel lumen and restrict normal blood circulation which leads to the development of ischemia, brain strokes, encephalopathy, clogged leg vessels and many other diseases. Though there are considerable achievements in fighting atherosclerosis, medicine has not yet succeeded in conquering it. The main problem is created by atherosclerosis plaques which are hard to get rid of (operations entail various complications). Experts from the Medical Radiological Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, headed by Academician A.F. Tsyba propose using low-intensity infrared laser radiation (LILR) for this purpose. The scientists have conducted laboratory and clinical tests for several years and have made certain of the effectiveness of applying LILR for atherosclerosis treatment.

Low-intensity infrared laser radiation does not damage tissues and does not cause mutations, so it can be used for therapy purposes. Medical scientists from Obninsk applied the Gallium-Arsenide laser with 890 nm wavelength, its radiation penetrating into the skin and most tissues 6-8 cm deeper than that of other LILR types does. The researchers used the pulse radiation method (pulse length at least 50 ns, maximum capacity at least 5W) so that the tissues located at maximal depth could receive as much energy as possible and could not "get used" to the laser exposure. As is customary, the tests were started on rats and then, having selected the optimal radiation modes for specific cases, the researchers got down to the clinical testing.

Applying LILR, the researchers examined and cured 196 patients suffering from leg vascular diseases; 98 males suffering from encephalopathy caused by atherosclerosis of aorta, lung artery and brain vessels; 133 patients with heart diseases. The patients underwent 10-30 LILR treatment séances 10 minutes each: the areas of tissue with diseased vessels underneath were exposed to radiation. The physicians monitored the treatment results with the help of the most advanced diagnostic equipment. In all cases the patients who had undergone the LILR treatment felt much better. The monitoring showed that the vessels having been exposed to radiation grew wider and were filled with blood while atherosclerosis plaques grew smaller. Better still, if the patients are treated by radiation along with the conventional medicine. In such cases the clinical effect of a single séance lasts 24 hours and that of a course of treatment - for about a year.

The patients with heart diseases took the most of the clinical tests. A pseudotherapy background group was formed of them (they were treated with the radiator switched off). They did not feel better but the physicians ascertained that the patients were cured with the help of laser and not by autohypnosis. The results of laboratory experiments and clinical research have led the scientists to the conclusion that LILR can be effectively applied in complex treatment of atherosclerosis damages of brain vessels, myocardium and peripheral arteries.

Informnauka (Informscience) Agency