Photo Credit: ttsz
The following is a summary of “Effectiveness of Transcranial Photobiomodulation therapy (tPBM) on reducing anxiety, depression, and opioid craving in patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment: a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial,” published in the February 2025 issue of BMC Psychiatry by Helali et al.
tPBMT stimulates ATP biosynthesis and neurogenesis by triggering specific reactions, showing potential as a treatment for various neural-related diseases.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the impact of tPBMT on reducing anxiety, depression, and opioid craving in patients undergoing MMT.
They included 2 groups of substance-dependent patients undergoing MMT, randomly assigned to receive tPBMT or sham tPBMT. The intervention group received LED PBM for 4 minutes at 810 nm wavelength, producing 250 mW/cm2 at 4 mm skin depth (totaling 60 J/cm2) on both forehead locations. Anxiety, depression, and opioid craving levels were compared before and after the intervention, as well as at 1-month and 3-month follow-ups.
The results showed that both groups comprised 32 (91.4%) males and 3 (8.6%) females. The mean age was 37.97 ± 10.58 years in the intervention group and 39.66 ± 9.94 years in the control group (P = 0.495). There were no significant differences in depression, anxiety, and opioid craving scores before the intervention (P > 0.05). However, the tPBMT group showed significant reductions in scores compared to the sham group (P < 0.05).
Investigators found tPBMT significantly improved anxiety, depression, and opioid craving, with effects sustained at 1 and 3 months.
Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-025-06555-3
