Link Found Between Red Light and Reduced Blood Clot Risk

Red light therapy may help reduce blood clotting and promote healing.

Humans and mice exposed to long-wavelength red light experienced reduced rates of blood clots, which can lead to heart attacks, lung damage, and strokes, stated study published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis ().

The findings, which need to be verified through clinical trials, have the potential to reduce blood clots in veins and arteries, which are leading causes of preventable death worldwide.

Blood Clots
An abnormal blood clot forms when there is damage to the lining of an artery or stagnation of blood in a vein; it obstructs the normal circulation of blood. A clot can form even in the absence of a cut.

‘#Redlight exposure may reduce #inflammation and #immunesystem activation, potentially lowering the risk of #bloodclot formation. #lighttherapy’

“The light we’re exposed to can change our biological processes and change our health,” said lead author Elizabeth Andraska, M.D., assistant professor of surgery in Pitt’s Trauma and Transfusion Medicine Research Center and vascular surgery resident at UPMC. “Our findings could lead to a relatively inexpensive therapy that would benefit millions of people.”

The Sun's Role in Blood Clot Risk

Scientists have long connected light exposure to health outcomes. The rising and setting of the sun underlies metabolism, hormone secretion, even the flow of blood, and heart attacks and stroke are more likely to happen in the morning hours than at night. Andraska and her colleagues wondered if light could have an impact on the blood clots that lead to these conditions.

To test this idea, the team exposed mice to 12 hours of either red, blue or white light, followed by 12 hours of darkness, in a 72-hour cycle. They then looked for differences in blood clots between the groups. The mice exposed to red light had nearly five times fewer clots than the mice exposed to blue or white light. Activity, sleep, eating, weight and body temperature remained the same between the groups.

Is it Normal to have Blood Clots during Menstruation?
Blood clots during the menstrual cycle is a normal occurrence during heavier menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia). Other medical conditions that are common and treat able can also cause blood clots apart from heavy periods.

The team also analyzed existing data on more than 10,000 patients who had cataract surgery and received either conventional lenses that transmit the entire visible spectrum of light, or blue light-filtering lenses, which transmit about 50% less blue light. They discovered that cancer patients who received blue light-filtering lenses had lower risk of blood clots compared to their counterparts with conventional lenses. This is especially notable because cancer patients have nine times the risk of blood clots of non-cancer patients.

“These results are unraveling a fascinating mystery about how the light to which we’re exposed on a daily basis influences our body’s response to injury,” said senior author Matthew Neal, M.D., professor of surgery, Watson Fund in Surgery Chair and co-director of the Trauma and Transfusion Medicine Research Center at Pitt, and trauma surgeon at UPMC. “Our next steps are to figure out why, biologically, this is happening, and to test if exposing people at high risk for blood clots to more red light lowers that risk. Getting to the bottom of our discovery has the potential to massively reduce the number of deaths and disabilities caused by blood clots worldwide.”

Red Light, Health Insight: Science and Benefits Behind Red Light Therapy
Discover the healing potential of Red Light Therapy. Dive into its mechanism, applications, and science-backed benefits for skin, hair, pain relief, and more.

The recently published study indicates that the optic pathway is key – light wavelength didn’t have any impact on blind mice, and shining light directly on blood also didn’t cause a change in clotting.

For example, red light-exposed mice had fewer neutrophil extracellular traps – aptly abbreviated as “NETs” – which are web-like structures made by immune cells to trap invading microorganisms. They also trap platelets, which can lead to clots.

Could Light Therapy Be a Breakthrough for Alzheimer's?
Light therapy enhances sleep and psycho-behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer's patients with minimal side effects.

The mice exposed to red light also had increased fatty acid production, which reduces platelet activation. Since platelets are essential to forming clots, this naturally leads to less clot formation.

Understanding how the red light is triggering changes that lower clotting risk could also put scientists on the track of better medications or therapies that could be more potent and convenient for patients than continuous red light exposure.

In preparation for clinical trials, the team is developing red light goggles to control the amount of light exposure study participants receive and investigating who may most benefit from red light

Reference:

Alterations in visible light exposure modulate platelet function and regulate thrombus formation - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1538783624005439?dgcid=author)

Source-Eurekalert