# Light therapy for IBD - Daily Mail UK Article



## xSophiexx (May 21, 2013)

MailOnline::The pill you can swallow to ease bowel trouble - http://bit.ly/14pqBYN 


Quite interesting would like to know the result of the trials


----------



## nogutsnoglory (May 21, 2013)

I'm glad to see novel research being done. I don't quite understand it but hope it will show positive results.


----------



## xSophiexx (May 21, 2013)

No me either but stranger things have happened! I might swallow a torch and see what happens ha


----------



## xmdmom (May 21, 2013)

Found this if anyone is interested http://www.photopill-med.com/ and this http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01702662 and this http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01702662


----------



## GutlessWonder86 (May 21, 2013)

hey, can I shine a flashlight down my throat or even in my mouth to heal the sores in there??  just wondering.  lol


----------



## Beach (May 22, 2013)

Clever - it is amazing how we have retained a plant like quality, where light plays a part in our well being.  

We need UV rays to make vitamin D3 along with other substances in our skin.  

I've read of, and used myself a blue light for winter blues.  I was surprised at how well it works at waking me up.  I've even seem some pubs have caught on, installing blue lights in their building in order to help keep patrons up later into the night.  

A few years ago as a gift I was given a red light hair brush.  I thought it was possibly a joke.  It was advertised to help with improving thinning hair.  It does seem to help some - at least when I use it my hair perks up.  

Will be interesting to see if the light pill helps improve gut health.


----------



## Igor_Passau (May 22, 2013)

http://www.google.com/patents/US20130013031

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an ingestible phototherapy device that may be used for treating diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, and in particular, for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

BACKGROUND
Light therapy, conventionally referred to as “phototherapy”, comprises exposing living tissue to light to treat a disease of the organism or tissue. The exposure is typically provided in accordance with a particular protocol tailored to the disease that defines spectrum and intensity of light used to illuminate the tissue and total energy deposited in the tissue by the light. The light may be generated using any of various suitable light sources, such as lasers, light emitting diodes (LEDs) fluorescent lamps.

Phototherapy is generally applied to relatively easily accessible tissue regions, such as external regions of the skin and the mucosa lining the mouth or nose, and is used to treat acne, psoriases, eczema, vitiligo (in which damage to skin pigment cells results in white skin patches) and skin-based lymphoma, gingivitis, gum inflammations, oral ulcers, and allergic rhinitis.

Phototherapy for treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is generally not performed because of the relative difficulty in accessing GI tract tissue. International Patent Application Publication WO 2008/012701 is entitled “Capsule camera with variable illumination of the surrounding tissue”, and discloses an ingestible capsule that is primarily intended for in vivo imaging of the GI tract of mammalian subjects. While the publication also mentions the possible use of the disclosed capsule camera for the treatment of diseased regions of the GI tract, it provide only very sparse details of the way in which said camera may be used for this purpose or of the structural features which permit said use. An article entitled Autonomous Device for Photostimulation of the Gastrointestinal Tract Immunity by Sergey A. Naumov et. al. (Translated and prepared for Alpha Omega Laboratories, Inc. by ITI Holms, Moscow, Russia, Apr. 4, 2003) describes an ingestible capsule that is constructed from two metallic hemispheres which are separated by a connected with light-transmitting polymeric sleeve. While this publication does describe the use of an experimental capsule device for use in the stimulation of Immune System mediators, it does not describe a method for either treating lesions or for promoting tissue healing in. the GI tract. Furthermore, it does not disclose any means for focusing the light beam produced by the light source or for controlling the activation, de-activation or output of said light source.

In conclusion, the inventors are unaware of any prior art publications that disclose or teach devices that are suitable for performing routine capsule phototherapy of GI tract conditions in a safe and controllable manner. The present invention provides workable technical solutions that enable this deficiency to be overcome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
.....


----------



## Passing Through (Aug 31, 2013)

Hi.
I signed up on this forum so I could throw in my two cents about this specific discussion. First of all I'd like to make it known that I have UC and not Crohns, I know the two are different enough that what I say may not matter, you'll have to decide that for yourself.

I had my own life altering experience using light-therapy, specifically red-light-therapy of the 640 nm (non-UV) range. If my experience is any indication, it does work. It worked so well, that I had a complete turn around in roughly two weeks. I could eat ANYTHING, and did. Though my symptoms were essentially gone, it's important people realize that I was not cured.

If you want to boil it all down to it's essence, all auto-immune related diseases are linked to the mitochondrial-DNA/mtDNA being damaged or mutated. If you have an auto-immune illness such as Crohns or UC, it's because enough of your mitochondria are impaired, which causes serious health problems, accelerated aging, etc. The so called modern diet is a big culprit but there are other factors as well. This is why some have had success using antioxidants such as natural vitamin-e, but getting your body to use it where it will do the most good is tricky.

What the light does is super-charge/feed your mitochondria so they can go to work doing what they normally are supposed to. I did not use this directly on the area of my illness, (nor any area that had bacteria I wanted to protect like my stomach, mouth, neck, etc.) but experienced a systemic effect. As to how effective it is at outright fixing your mtDNA, I can't say for sure. I was healed for sure, but I don't know to what level, how deeply it effected me.

                -

As far as light therapy in a pill is concerned... I think it's a terribly irresponsible use of it. We have very fragile bacteria in our gut that we need, and red/blue ranges of light are infamous for there destructive power on bacteria. It's incredibly difficult if not impossible to replace them. It may help with your health in the short term, but at what cost? Short of fixing Cancer, I would not use light therapy this way.

Apologies for my post being so long.


----------



## rollinstone (Sep 1, 2013)

hi passing through, I appreciate your input, just wondering how you received light therapy? and also how did you go about getting it (at request of GI or did you have to pursue it yourself?)


----------



## Passing Through (Sep 1, 2013)

Hey Joshuaaa.
At that point in time my bodies organs were beginning to feel the strain from an imposed limited diet and were at the breaking point- I had already lost a great deal of weight and my prescribed medicine just didn't reach the infected area. Before this, I had tried Remicade which absolutely worked, but made me feel like a zombie. Reading about the side-effects (of Remicade) is what ultimately lead me to stop using it and of course my Dr. strongly advised against it.

I had tried many, many things before light therapy, some of which 'helped' more then my medicine, but ultimately I was stuck. It was kind of an accident, an experiment brought on by desperation. I'd read about some supposed Russian study done that used LLLT for Ulcerative Colitis, but could never find any details or how it was performed.

I happened to have a laser device handy (I borrowed), so I just used that. The tricky thing about LT is that you can over-feed by exposing an area to light for too long. This isn't bad, but it's not the desired effect you want. I don't know allot about it, but I do know that power/luminous intensity and the specific wavelength are what matter most. 

There has been an endless debate between those that sell the equipment over what to use, LED or laser. Both sides cite medical studies to support there arguments. Personally, I imagine that the difference where your tissue is concerned is negligible. Lasers are unfortunately much more expensive and LED's have to be very bright in order to penetrate deeper. Unfortunately it's a crapshoot to try and get something useful that won't break the bank, some have gone the route of building there own instead. In any case, I'm in the same boat myself.

Something else I discovered by accident recently- taking any kind of steroid (like prednisone) will block the effect of the LT. I imagine any immune-modulating medicine would probably do the same.


----------



## rollinstone (Sep 1, 2013)

thanks for the response, I don't quite understand though, you have a laser, how do you use it yourself, for instance, shine it on your stomach? How does that super-charge/feed your mitochondria from the exterior of our skin?


----------



## Passing Through (Sep 2, 2013)

Certain wavelengths of light have the ability to pass through tissue. The mitochondria live in your blood and tissue, the light you shine is converted to ATP by the mitochondria, which they use as a food source. Normally they help out in various important ways, but sometimes they become inefficient or even hazardous because they're prone to be damaged and 'malfunction'. We have the capacity to make more of them just by exercising on a regular basis, or by taking supplements/eating certain foods.

I shine it on my epidermis, different places that I consider safe but not on my stomach area or any area where light could pass through and destroy vital bacteria. This particular device I could hold the light on an area for about 2 and a half to 3 seconds, then move on to another area. It really depends upon what your using, power = depth that the light will shine through. Technically you could use it on your stomach if the power was weak enough not to pass through into your gut, but it would take allot longer to actually work and probably wouldn't be worth it. The effect from the light is systemic, meaning it will work through out your body and not just locally.


----------



## sir.clausin (Sep 2, 2013)

Passing Through: Could you explain more around this statement

"all auto-immune related diseases are linked to the mitochondrial-DNA/mtDNA being damaged or mutated"

I found this article, but not much more http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15068964

"This is why some have had success using antioxidants such as natural vitamin-e, but getting your body to use it where it will do the most good is tricky"

I am very interested in this, so tell me more about what can be done? Any specific vitamins, minerals etc.


----------



## Passing Through (Sep 2, 2013)

Not being an MD or any kind of scientist, I only really have a basic grasp of the facts and I don't collect bookmark's to studies anymore like I used to, bad habit I know. I would look up mitochondria and auto-immune illness in general though. The role that mitochondria plays is well known with leading edge fitness types. Here's a link: http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/content/5/5/a012641.full

From what I understand, there are some antioxidants and supplements that supposedly help repair mitochondria, but the thing is I'm not sure how well they work. I know from my own experience that natural vitamin-e has a protective effect, but whether the effect is permanent or not is another thing entirely. A friend of mine recently mentioned that she takes something called "Broken Cell Wall" Chlorella which cured her of her illness (and surprised her Doctor). Ubiquinone/Co-Q10, B vitamins, PQQ, Grape Seed Extract also supposedly help and I'm sure many more I haven't listed. 

I know they've been experimenting with stem cells lately (which can be taken from almost any kind of tissue now) to allow them to create a ton of whatever specific antigens you need to basically fix the issue. Another method uses stem cells directly with your Mitochondria. The technique(s) have been refined to the point of curing most people they've used it with.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-scientist-find-way-to-repair-230241.aspx


----------



## Seeking Solutions (May 30, 2017)

My 18 year old son got Crohn's about a year ago. I was intrigued by your use of "red-light-therapy of the 640 nm (non-UV) range" for your ulcerative colitis. Generally with the rapid increase of IBD's in northern countries especially, and with highly processed foods, it makes a lot of logical sense. I see your post was in 2013 and I am wondering how things are going? Have others tried it?


----------

