CNSPulse

6. PMID: 39370461. TRANSCRANIAL PHOTOBIOMODULATION FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

Dan Iosifescu — New York University School of Medicine

2026 ASCP Annual Meeting

A large body of evidence supports mitochondrial dysfunction as an important pathology in Alzheimer’s disease. We will review in this presentation emerging evidence that transcranial photobiomodulation (t-PBM) with near infrared light, which stimulates mitochondrial function, can improve cognitive deficits in subjects with Alzheimer’s disease. Most of the earlier data are derived from rodent studies and from small, proof-of-concept clinical trials. However, we will also present recent results from a recently completed larger study in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD) which enrolled 196 subjects. 78 subjects with current MCI or mild AD were randomized to an 8 week treatment with 3 weekly sessions of active t-PBM (808 nm, 300 mW/cm2 irradiance) or sham (total 24 sessions). t-PBM was delivered to the prefrontal cortex, bilaterally. Clinical and neuropsychological testing were done at screen, endpoint, and at the long term follow-up (3 months after the end of randomized treatment) to study the permanence of clinical effects. To evaluate brain mechanisms of t-PBM in this population we tested changes in fMRI Blood-Oxygenation-Level Dependent (BOLD) signal after a single treatment to demonstrate t-PBM-dependent increases in prefrontal cortex blood flow. 68 participants completed all study procedures. 10 subjects (12.8%) terminated the study early. Based on these results, we will discuss the effects of t-PBM on on global cognitive functioning and on specific cognitive domains in subjects with AD. We will also highlight the associations between clinical cognitive improvement and hemodynamic changes measured with fMRI BOLD.

References

  1. Iosifescu DV, Song X, Gersten MB, Adib A, Cho Y, Collins KM, Yates KF, HurtadoPuerto AM, McEachern KM, Osorio RS, Cassano P. Protocol Report on the Transcranial Photobiomodulation for Alzheimer’s Disease (TRAP-AD) Study. Healthcare (Basel). 2023; 11(14):2017.
  2. Gaggi NL, Collins KA, Gonzalez-Castillo J, Hurtado AM, Castellanos FX, Osorio R, Cassano P, Iosifescu DV. Transcranial photobiomodulation increases intrinsic brain activity within irradiated areas in early Alzheimer’s disease: Potential link with cerebral metabolism. Brain Stimul. 2024; 17(2):208-210.