Efeitos de clareadores ópticos, ultrassonoterapia e sonoforese para a fotobiomodulação: ensaio clínico randomizado

Abstract

Introduction: Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) consists of the application of light in the range from red to near infrared for therapeutic purposes. The effects of PBMT on biological tissues depend on light-tissue interactions, which in turn depend on the light penetration through human skin. Several studies have investigated the effects of optical clearing agents (OCAs); chemical penetration enhancers (CPEs); and physical-based approaches, such as ultrasound (US), to attenuate the reflection and scattering of light in biological tissues and thus increase the depth of light penetration. However, there are no studies in humans that have combined these approaches, as well as other important factors such as skin color (phototype) and age, which possibly also impact the light penetration. Objective: Verify if the application of a mixture of OCA-CPE, as well as US and Sonophoresis (US + OCA-CPE) improves the light penetration of PBMT through the skin of human. Methodology: This is study is a randomized clinical trial. Sixty-eight men voluntarily participated in the study, allocated into 6 groups based on their skin phototype and age. Volunteers underwent PBMT applied in the vastus medialis region of both limbs in combination with: 1) application of OCA-CPE, 2) US and 3) Results: Significant correlations (p<0.05) were found between light penetration and skin phototype. Conclusion: The three proposed interventions (OCA-IPQ, US and Sonophoresis) did not show significant effects in facilitating the penetration of red (660 nm) and infrared (808 nm) light in the region of the vastus medialis muscle of the thigh in young and older men. However, we found that phototype significantly influences the amount of light that penetrates the skin.