The thought of aging to the majority of the population is a scary and unknown concept. The idea of aging eyes and your vision diminishing can cause major distress, especially if there is no accessible treatment available. However, new studies have shown some evidence that long wavelengths of light can help with the aging process of the eyes and help counteract some age related ocular diseases.
Mitochondria have a very important role in our cells, as they supply ATP to perform cellular functions. As a person ages, the amount of energy made by the mitochondria decreases, which helps determine the pacing of aging. There is a very high density of mitochondria within the photoreceptors of the eye, specifically in the cones. (Figure 1 shows mitochondria within both types of photoreceptors). The cones are responsible for colour vision and high acuity during daylight, therefore as the mitochondria activity decreases, those cones are not as accurate, making vision and colour differentiation difficult for the aging population. There is research showing that mitochondria will absorb longer wavelengths of light (650nm-1000nm) and this helps to improve mitochondrial performance. This is also known as photobiomodulation.
One study published in the Journal of Gerontology tested this idea of long wavelength light therapy. They collected subjects varying from ages 28 to 72 and performed tests to check the cone function, more specifically the colour contrast thresholds for the red and blue visual axis (protan and tritan, respectively). The researchers used a software to determine the thresholds seen for each visual axis. Once the baseline tests were completed, each subject was asked to shine a 670nm light into their eye for 3 minutes each day for 2 weeks. The results for both visual axes before and after the long wavelength stimulation is shown below.
These results are divided into two age groups: 28-38 years olds were considered the “young subjects” and the 39-72 year olds were considered the “old subjects”. This data shows that there was a larger improvement in threshold level that could be seen with the older age group vs the young age group. This study helps to show the significance of long wavelength light and how it can help improve the distinction of colours and contrast in aging eyes.
Along with the seemingly positive effects towards aging eyes, low level light therapy (LLLT) can also help avoid neurodegeneration in the brain, reduce pain and inflammation and can also help with a variety of skin conditions and diseases. For more in depth information on LLLT and red light vision therapy, check out the links provided.
Although the therapy seems relatively harmless and effective, more tests and trials must be done to ensure its safety and significance. Maybe in the future, red light therapy will be the new at home solution for aging eyes to help avoid various ocular diseases.
References
Avci, Pinar et al. “Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) in skin: stimulating, healing, restoring.”
Seminars in cutaneous medicine and surgery vol. 32,1 (2013): 41-52.
Harpreet Shinhmar, MSc, Manjot Grewal, BSc, Sobha Sivaprasad, MBBS, PhD, Chris Hogg,
Victor Chong, MBBS, PhD, Magella Neveu, PhD, Glen Jeffery, DPhil, Optically Improved
Mitochondrial Function Redeems Aged Human Visual Decline, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Volume 75, Issue 9, 1 September 2020, Pages e49–e52,
Rojas, Julio C, and F Gonzalez-Lima. “Low-level light therapy of the eye and brain.” Eye and brain vol. 3 49-67. 14 Oct. 2011, doi:10.2147/EB.S21391
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