| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
Fiscal Year 2007: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥1,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Treatment regimens used in pain clinics include oral drugs, nerve blocks, and physical therapy. Recently, phototherapy, a noninvasive treatment with minimal side effects, has been used for pain management in elderly patients in whom nerve blocks cannot be performed because of concurrent disease. We used the rabbit ear chamber method under direct vision to examine changes in the arteriolar microcirculation after phototherapy. Low-power laser light (laser group) and linearly polarized near-infrared light (near-infrared group) were used to measure the luminal diameter, blood-flow velocity, and blood volume of the arterioles. As compared with the values before treatment (100%), the arteriolar diameter increased to 101.9% f 5.9% in the control group, 130.1% ± 10.4% in the laser group, and 125.2% ± 16.9% in the near-infrared group. These increases in both the laser and near-infrared groups were significant as compared with the control value (p<0. 05). Blood-flow velocity increased from a baseline value of 100% to 101.3% t 3.6% in the control group, 126.3% ± 14.8% in the laser group, and 129.1% ± 16.8% in the near-infrared group. The increases in both the laser and near-infrared groups were significant as compared with that in the control group (p<0.05). Arteriolar blood volume showed a similar trend, and significantly increased after phototherapy (p<0.05). Phototherapy improved the microcirculation with minimal systemic and local side effects band can therefore be used as adjuvant therapy. Laser therapy is very often used in the field of pain management. Previous basic research, including our study, has suggested that the mechanism by which laser therapy relieves pain involves factors such as the selective inhibition of peripheral-nerve conduction, relaxation of vascular smooth muscle, and arteriolar dilation due to the inhibition of sympathetic-nerve activity. In addition to relieving pain, laser therapy can reduce inflammation and promote wound healing.
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