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Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy in Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Clinical Medicine Research

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((CLEXBI,volume 1116 ))

Abstract

The study examined the efficacy of low-level laser therapy, a form of photobiomodulation, for the treatment of irritability associated with autistic spectrum disorder in children and adolescents aged 5–17 years. Twenty-one of the 40 participants received eight 5-min procedures administered to the base of the skull and temporal areas across a 4-week period (test, i.e., active treatment participants). All the participants were evaluated with the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), with the global scale and five subscales (irritability/agitation, lethargy/social withdrawal, stereotypic behavior, hyperactivity/noncompliance, and inappropriate speech), and the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) Scale including a severity-of-illness scale (CGI-S) and a global improvement/change scale (CGI-C). The evaluation took place at baseline, week 2 (interim), week 4 (endpoint), and week 8 (post-procedure) of the study. The adjusted mean difference in the baseline to study endpoint change in the ABC irritability subscale score between test and placebo participants was −15.17 in favor of the test procedure group. ANCOVA analysis found this difference to be statistically significant (F = 99.34, p < 0.0001) compared to the baseline ABC irritability subscale score. The study found that low-level laser therapy could be an effective tool for reducing irritability and other symptoms and behaviors associated with the autistic spectrum disorder in children and adolescents, with positive changes maintained and augmented over time.

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Acknowledgments

The project was funded by Erchonia Corp., Melbourne, FL, the producers of the equipment employed in this study. The authors would like to thank Ms. Elvira Walls for her assistance with the statistical analysis and research methodology.

Conflicts of Interest

None of the authors have any fiduciary interests in the research reported herein or with the source of funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Gerry Leisman

  2. National Institute for Brain and Rehabilitation Sciences, Nazareth, Israel

    Gerry Leisman

  3. Faculty ‘Manuel Fajrdo’, University of Medical Sciences, Havana, Cuba

    Gerry Leisman

  4. Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Havana, Cuba

    Calixto Machado, Yanin Machado & Mauricio Chinchilla-Acosta

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  1. Gerry Leisman
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  2. Calixto Machado
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  4. Mauricio Chinchilla-Acosta
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Correspondence to Gerry Leisman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Opole Medical School, Opole, Poland

    Mieczyslaw Pokorski

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Leisman, G., Machado, C., Machado, Y., Chinchilla-Acosta, M. (2018). Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy in Autism Spectrum Disorder. In: Pokorski, M. (eds) Clinical Medicine Research. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 1116 . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/5584_2018_234

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