The effects of daily irradiation with polychromatic visible polarized light on human lymphocyte populations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind study was to investigate the effects of transcutaneous irradiation with polychromatic visible polarized light (540-780 nm; 68% polarization; power density 3.0 E-10 W/cm(2)) on a subset population of human lymphocytes using flow cytometry. BACKGROUND DATA: The biomodulation and therapeutic effects of visible light of different wavelengths are well known, but the immunological effects of polychromatic visible polarized light have not been investigated sufficiently. METHODS: Before and after 28 consecutive days of irradiation, blood samples were collected from the subjects and the population count of the lymphocyte subset was measured. RESULTS: The absolute count of total lymphocytes, CD3(+) lymphocytes, and CD3(+)CD4(+) lymphocytes increased by 7% (p = 0.023), 9% (p = 0.058), and 13% (p = 0.021), respectively. Yet the absolute count of WBCs, CD3(+)CD8(+), CD19(+), and CD16(+)56(+) lymphocytes did not change significantly. CONCLUSION: The application of polychromatic visible polarized light with the aforementioned features increases the CD3(+)CD4(+) lymphocyte population. It is suggested that this regimen may be useful for the promotion of natural defenses in cell-mediated immunity.