The Future of Wound Healing: Can Stem Cells and Light Therapy Combine for Better Results?

When it comes to healing wounds, science is always evolving, and a new dynamic duo is making waves, Stem cells (SCs) and light based therapy (LBT). Both treatments have shown promise individually, but what happens when they’re combined? Spoiler alert: the potential is impressive, but we’re not quite there yet.

The Basics: How Does Wound Healing Work?

Wound healing is a complex process involving four main stages: stopping the bleeding (hemostasis), defending against bacteria, pathogens and infection (inflammation), creating new tissue (proliferation), and forming scar tissue (remodeling) (Wallace et al., 2023). Think of it as your body’s very own construction team, coming together to rebuild!

Now, imagine throwing some cutting edge technology into the mix. SCs can help accelerate healing by regenerating damaged tissues, while LBT (like low-level laser therapy) promotes collagen production and reduces inflammation. It’s like sending in reinforcements to speed up the process, pretty impressive stuff (Farabi et al., 2024 & Hopkins et al., 2004).

Is Together Better?

Individually, SCs and LBT are already hero’s in the world of wound healing. SCs help regenerate tissue, while LBT boosts the healing process by activating fibroblasts and reducing inflammation (De Abreu Chaves et al., 2014 & Farabi et al., 2024). But what happens when you put them together? Early research shows that combining these therapies might just create the ultimate healing powerhouse.

Studies have found that the combination of the two can potentially boost the rate of wound closure, help reduce scarring, and even improve the overall structure of the skin. The theory is that LBT enhances the ability of SCs to regenerate tissues by increasing cell proliferation and growth factor release. It’s like giving your SCs a personal trainer!

What the Research Says

While the results are exciting, we’re still in the early stages (Ahmadi et al., 2020). A 2023 meta-analysis by Zheng et al. (2023), (fancy term for a big analysis of studies) looked at how SCs and LBT worked together. The results? Promising! Wound closure rates increased, and tissue regeneration improved. However, there wasn’t a significant difference in wound tensile strength (how tough the healed skin is), showing that more research is still needed.

The Path Ahead

While we’re on the brink of something incredible, it’s important to proceed with caution. Combining SCs and LBT could drastically improve wound healing in all different aspects, but there’s still much to learn before it becomes common practice. Clinicians need more evidence to ensure these treatments are safe and effective in the long term.

For now, this cutting edge combined treatment approach remains an exciting possibility, one that could change the future of how we treat wounds. Think how incredible this could be post surgeries and even in the recovery of traumatic accidents. Let’s see how it evolves!

Key Takeaways

Stem cells and light-based therapy show incredible promise for increasing wound healing and improving overall skin health. While the science isn’t fully there yet, it’s certainly heating up. With more research, this combined approach could be the next big thing in skincare and medical treatments alike.

References

Ahmadi, H., Amini, A., Fathabady, F. F., Mostafavinia, A., Zare, F., Ebrahimpour-Malekshah, R., Ghalibaf, M. N., Abrisham, M., Rezaei, F., Albright, R., Ghoreishi, S. K., Chien, S., & Bayat, M. (2020). Transplantation of photobiomodulation-preconditioned diabetic stem cells accelerates ischemic wound healing in diabetic rats. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-020-01967-2

De Abreu Chaves, M. E., De Araújo, A. R., Piancastelli, A. C. C., & Pinotti, M. (2014). Effects of low-power light therapy on wound healing: LASER x LED. Anais Brasileiros De Dermatologia, 89(4), 616–623. https://doi.org/10.1590/abd1806-4841.20142519

Farabi, B., Roster, K., Hirani, R., Tepper, K., Atak, M. F., & Safai, B. (2024). The Efficacy of stem cells in wound healing: a Systematic review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(5), 3006. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25053006

Hopkins, J. T., McLoda, T. A., Seegmiller, J. G., & Baxter, G. D. (2004). Low-Level Laser Therapy Facilitates Superficial Wound Healing in Humans: A Triple-Blind, Sham-Controlled Study. Journal of Athletic Training, 39(3), 223–229. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC522143/

Wallace, H. A., Basehore, B. M., & Zito, P. M. (2023, June 12). Wound healing phases. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470443/

Zheng, M., Zhang, H., Wu, H., Xie, J., Chen, Q., Jiang, Y., & Zhao, D. (2023). Assessing the role of combination of stem cell and light‐based treatments on skin wound repair: A meta‐analysis. International Wound Journal, 20(10), 4272–4280. https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.14329