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Publisher: Peytchinski Publishing Ltd.
ISSN: 1312-773X (Online)
Issue: 2025, vol. 31, issue2
Subject Area: Medicine
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DOI: 10.5272/jimab.2025312.6171
Published online: 29 April 2025
Original article
J of IMAB. 2025 Apr-Jun;31(2):6171-6178
IS PHOTOBIOMODULATION AN EFFECTIVE NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL COMPLEMENT TO THE TREATMENT OF DIABETIC NEUROPATHY - A RANDOMIZED, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL
Lili Yosifova1
, Evgeniya Vladeva1, Mira Siderova2, Klara Dokova3,
1) Department of Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Thalassotherapy, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University - Varna, Bulgaria.
2) Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University - Varna, Bulgaria.
3) Department of Social Medicine and Healthcare Organization, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University - Varna, Bulgaria.
ABSTRACT:
Diabetes is one of the leading causes of health losses among the Bulgarian population. Diabetic neuropathy (DN) occurs in at least 34 % of people with type 1 diabetes after 25 years of disease duration and 20 % - 30 % of newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes, increasing to 50 % after 10 years of disease duration. The treatment of DN is challenging. There is growing interest in non-pharmacological forms of treatment. High-power lasers have increasingly been used in the practice of physical and rehabilitation medicine. However, clinical trials testing their effectiveness in DN are scarce.
Purpose: The aim of this single blinded, placebo-controlled field trial is to investigate the effect of a multiwave locked system (MLS laser) on sensory perception and electroneurographic parameters of sensory and motor nerves in patients with diabetic sensorimotor neuropathy of lower limbs.
Material/Methods: A total of 69 patients were randomly assigned laser treatment (n=41) or placebo treatment (n-28) for three weeks, totaling 9 procedural sessions. Vibration sense was measured three times per session. Neurophysiological evaluations were conducted at baseline and on day 90.
Results: On day 21, vibration sense increased bilaterally at all sites in the laser group, with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05 for all sites) compared to the placebo group, persisting through day 90. Nerve conduction velocity and amplitude of the sural, peroneal, and tibial nerves improved by day 90 from baseline, with superior results in the sural nerve.
Conclusions: Deep tissue laser therapy can be considered a safe, non-pharmacological adjunct to the standard for managing diabetic neuropathy.
Keywords: diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, electroneurography, laser, non-pharmacological treatment, photobiomodulation, tuning fork,
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Please cite this article as: Yosifova L, Vladeva E, Siderova M, Dokova K. Is Photobiomodulation an Effective Non-Pharmacological Complement to the Treatment of Diabetic Neuropathy - a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. J of IMAB. 2025 Apr-Jun;31(2):6171-6178. [Crossref - 10.5272/jimab.2025312.6171]
Correspondence to: Lili Yordanova Yosifova, MD, PhD, Department of Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Thalassotherapy, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University – Varna; 55, Marin Drinov Str., 9002 Varna, Bulgaria; E-mail: lili.yosifova77@gmail.com
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Received: 20 December 2024
Published online: 29 April 2025