Dove non va il sole, va il medico."
(Where the sun does not go, the doctor does)
-old Italian Proverb
In this chapter, we offer a "light" introduction to the history of using illumination for therapeutic purposes. There are three essential parts to this story. Part one is the ancient practice of Heliotherapy in which direct sunlight is used to heal the body. The second part of this "light history" is the age of electricity and its use in light therapy which began with the invention of the lightbulb in 1879 and continued through the decades that followed. Pioneers like Nobel Prize winner Niels Finsen and John Harvey Kellogg used the newly invented lightbulb to give patients therapeutic “light baths.” Part 3 brings us up to the present which is the use of solid state devices for light therapy beginning with the invention of LASERS in the 1960's and continuing into the 1990's with wide availability of LEDs (light emitting diodes). Both lasers and LEDs are quantum-based devices that can focus very specific wavelengths of light. This ability to focus specific frequencies in research-proven frequency ranges makes lasers and LEDs the ideal choice for light therapy. They allow us to concentrate on the most biologically active and health promoting wavelengths - one of the main subjects of this book.
(Where the sun does not go, the doctor does)
-old Italian Proverb
In this chapter, we offer a "light" introduction to the history of using illumination for therapeutic purposes. There are three essential parts to this story. Part one is the ancient practice of Heliotherapy in which direct sunlight is used to heal the body. The second part of this "light history" is the age of electricity and its use in light therapy which began with the invention of the lightbulb in 1879 and continued through the decades that followed. Pioneers like Nobel Prize winner Niels Finsen and John Harvey Kellogg used the newly invented lightbulb to give patients therapeutic “light baths.” Part 3 brings us up to the present which is the use of solid state devices for light therapy beginning with the invention of LASERS in the 1960's and continuing into the 1990's with wide availability of LEDs (light emitting diodes). Both lasers and LEDs are quantum-based devices that can focus very specific wavelengths of light. This ability to focus specific frequencies in research-proven frequency ranges makes lasers and LEDs the ideal choice for light therapy. They allow us to concentrate on the most biologically active and health promoting wavelengths - one of the main subjects of this book.
Part 1: Heliotherapy
The record throughout the history of mankind reveals that we humans have been aware of the healing power of light for many millennia. Likely for tens of thousands of years, ancient civilizations and tribes alike were passionate sun worshippers, considering it the giver and source of life. Light has also been used in medicine for at least this long. The ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and other major cultures made significant breakthroughs in the medical use of light. Much as we do today, these civilizations clearly understood that sunlight provided them visibility, warmth, health and vitality. Unlike the way we view the phenomenon of sunlight through the eyes of modern science, their understanding of how it provides these life-sustaining influences was immersed in spiritual texts and cultural traditions.
The record throughout the history of mankind reveals that we humans have been aware of the healing power of light for many millennia. Likely for tens of thousands of years, ancient civilizations and tribes alike were passionate sun worshippers, considering it the giver and source of life. Light has also been used in medicine for at least this long. The ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and other major cultures made significant breakthroughs in the medical use of light. Much as we do today, these civilizations clearly understood that sunlight provided them visibility, warmth, health and vitality. Unlike the way we view the phenomenon of sunlight through the eyes of modern science, their understanding of how it provides these life-sustaining influences was immersed in spiritual texts and cultural traditions.
We can trace the history of light being used specifically for therapeutic purposes back thousands of years to India in the Hindu text Artharva Veda, dating from around 1400 BCE, or perhaps earlier. Those suffering from leprosy and related skin diseases were given various herbal remedies and then exposed to natural sunlight [1].
Heliotherapy, derived from the Greek word "Helios-,” is the god and personification of the sun. Heliotherapy utilizes its energy for the healing of disease and the promotion of general wellness. Around 400 BCE, ancient Greeks understood that there was a relationship between sunlight and the health of both body and mind. The writings of the physician Hippocrates documented his prescribing heliotherapy (or sunbathing) as both a physiological and psychological remedy. Hippocrates even prescribed light therapy for depression when he observed what he termed “winter melancholy.” He and other Greek physicians found that it could be "cured" by taking a holiday to the coast to soak up the sun.
The Romans were also great believers in the sun's healing rays, ignoring the opinions of doctors and instead relying on sanitation, good water supplies, hygiene, exercise and sunbathing to keep themselves healthy. These practices connect naturally to Roman architecture and welcoming the sun into the places people lived. The Roman scholar Pliny the elder, a fierce critic of physicians in his time, described Heliotherapy, or sunbathing, as the best of all "self-administered remedies." After the fall of the Roman Empire, however, the practice seems have been lost both historically and metaphorically in the "Dark Ages," mainly because it was linked with the practice of pagan sun worship [2-6].
The Age of Enlightenment and Reemergence of Light Therapy
The historical darkness to light metaphors help us write the story of heliotherapy’s promising return. After the Dark Ages came to an end, and following a millennium of Church-sponsored repression, its practice began to resurface - likely because of the diminished influence of the church that came about from the separation of science, religion, politics, and art during the Enlightenment Era.
The historical darkness to light metaphors help us write the story of heliotherapy’s promising return. After the Dark Ages came to an end, and following a millennium of Church-sponsored repression, its practice began to resurface - likely because of the diminished influence of the church that came about from the separation of science, religion, politics, and art during the Enlightenment Era.
The first historical writing about photomedicine resurfaced in 1735 when Fiennius [1] documented cases of cancerous and skin disorders being cured by sunbathing. One example he cited described a case in which he cured a cancerous growth on the lip using a sunbath. In the 18th and 19th century, heliotherapy was used to treat other disorders, such as skin ulcers [7], wound healing [5], arthritis [9], tuberculosis [9], tumors [5] and partial blindness. In 1782, an interesting report emerged about a man named Harris using irradiated mollusk shells to improve a case of rickets (fragile bones resulting from vitamin D deficiency) [1].
Some of the most amazing accounts in this era showcased the positive influence of sunlight on mental health. Remember, this was first observed by Hippocrates in Ancient Greece, who recognized that depression was more common in winter than summer. This insight was brought back from the Dark Ages in 1806 by Pinel, who identified two different types of seasonal depression, one in winter and the other in summer. In 1845, his student Esquirol (10) recorded many cases of both forms of depression. Later in the century, Ponza [11] further expanded the scope of light therapy, reporting that it was beneficial for treating patients with many different types of mental illness. He noted that violet or blue light was effective for treating mania, whereas red light alleviated depression.
As we'll see in Chapter 4, during the 20th century, light therapy would be rediscovered many times as an effective way to treat what came to be known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD (Hasselbalch [12] Siebeck [13], and Lewy, Kern & colleagues [14]).
As we'll see in Chapter 4, during the 20th century, light therapy would be rediscovered many times as an effective way to treat what came to be known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD (Hasselbalch [12] Siebeck [13], and Lewy, Kern & colleagues [14]).
Sunlight – The Killer of Bacteria
There is an 1877 study that’s considered both a segue to modern light therapy research and as an incredibly serendipitous observation of the healing effects of light. Downes and Blunt discovered - literally by sheer chance - that sunlight could kill bacteria. They noted that sugar water placed on a windowsill turned cloudy in the shade while remaining clear in the sun! Examining these solutions under a microscope, they realized that bacteria were growing and multiplying in the shaded solution but not in the one exposed to sunlight. [15]
This breakthrough spurred the research of Niels Ryberg Finsen, a Danish scientist who pioneered modern research into light therapy. His personal health struggles prompted him to develop techniques of medical phototherapy to treat various skin disorders.
There is an 1877 study that’s considered both a segue to modern light therapy research and as an incredibly serendipitous observation of the healing effects of light. Downes and Blunt discovered - literally by sheer chance - that sunlight could kill bacteria. They noted that sugar water placed on a windowsill turned cloudy in the shade while remaining clear in the sun! Examining these solutions under a microscope, they realized that bacteria were growing and multiplying in the shaded solution but not in the one exposed to sunlight. [15]
This breakthrough spurred the research of Niels Ryberg Finsen, a Danish scientist who pioneered modern research into light therapy. His personal health struggles prompted him to develop techniques of medical phototherapy to treat various skin disorders.

Part 2: Light Therapy in the Modern World
Nils Ryberg Finsen was born in the Faroe Islands and studied medicine at the University of Copenhagen. Suffering from a very serious illness called Niemann-Pick’s disease, he treated himself with great exposure to sunlight – and found that his condition greatly improved. He came to believe that light could possibly treat numerous diseases, most notably via anti-microbial effects of sunlight and arc lamps on skin related tuberculosis. Remarkably, under appropriate conditions, it actually cured the disease[16]! In 1903, Finsen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for this achievement. He explained in his acceptance speech: "My disease was responsible for my starting investigations on light: I suffered anemia and tiredness, and since I lived in a house facing the North, I began to believe that I might be helped if I received more sun. I therefore spent as much time as possible in its rays."
Nils Ryberg Finsen was born in the Faroe Islands and studied medicine at the University of Copenhagen. Suffering from a very serious illness called Niemann-Pick’s disease, he treated himself with great exposure to sunlight – and found that his condition greatly improved. He came to believe that light could possibly treat numerous diseases, most notably via anti-microbial effects of sunlight and arc lamps on skin related tuberculosis. Remarkably, under appropriate conditions, it actually cured the disease[16]! In 1903, Finsen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for this achievement. He explained in his acceptance speech: "My disease was responsible for my starting investigations on light: I suffered anemia and tiredness, and since I lived in a house facing the North, I began to believe that I might be helped if I received more sun. I therefore spent as much time as possible in its rays."
Based on Finsen’s experiences, many considered light therapy being worthy of a Nobel prize an extraordinary thing. Other authors wrote books on the subject, and the practice took off with the widespread use of the recently invented electric lightbulbs. Many practitioners wondered if they could treat various diseases with them. One of those people was John Harvey Kellogg (of Kellogg's Corn Flakes).

John Harvey Kellogg of Kellogg's Corn Flakes
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was an American health advocate who strived to be on the leading edge of wellness and technology. While using electricity in various ways at his world-famous Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, he also viewed the newly invented electric light bulb as a powerful tool for better health and wellness through light therapy. One of Kellogg's most famous inventions was his "Light Cabinet" or “Light Bath,” featured at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893.
Kellogg also wrote a book called Light Therapeutics, which contained advice and suggestions to use along with his "light baths" to treat all sorts of diseases. Others followed with many types of small rooms, chambers and even capsules of lightbulbs where people could lay down and be treated for all sorts of diseases with a therapeutic "bath" of light [17,18]. When you eat Corn Flakes, remember that today’s full body LED light beds can trace their origins to Kellogg’s original "light cabinet". The guy who is famous for creating the flaked cereal industry was ahead of his time in many ways!
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was an American health advocate who strived to be on the leading edge of wellness and technology. While using electricity in various ways at his world-famous Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, he also viewed the newly invented electric light bulb as a powerful tool for better health and wellness through light therapy. One of Kellogg's most famous inventions was his "Light Cabinet" or “Light Bath,” featured at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893.
Kellogg also wrote a book called Light Therapeutics, which contained advice and suggestions to use along with his "light baths" to treat all sorts of diseases. Others followed with many types of small rooms, chambers and even capsules of lightbulbs where people could lay down and be treated for all sorts of diseases with a therapeutic "bath" of light [17,18]. When you eat Corn Flakes, remember that today’s full body LED light beds can trace their origins to Kellogg’s original "light cabinet". The guy who is famous for creating the flaked cereal industry was ahead of his time in many ways!
Heliotherapy - Back To Nature
Concurrent with the use of "light baths" using lightbulbs and arc lamps was the return to sunbathing or heliotherapy, but with a twist. Instead of merely sunbathing, there was now sunbathing at high altitude in the cold fresh air of the Alps. Both Oskar Bernhard and Auguste Rollier had heliotherapy clinics in the Alps mountains and exposed people (including children) with various disorders to sunlight using protocols they developed. The two became widely renowned for helping people heal with these timeless techniques!
Concurrent with the use of "light baths" using lightbulbs and arc lamps was the return to sunbathing or heliotherapy, but with a twist. Instead of merely sunbathing, there was now sunbathing at high altitude in the cold fresh air of the Alps. Both Oskar Bernhard and Auguste Rollier had heliotherapy clinics in the Alps mountains and exposed people (including children) with various disorders to sunlight using protocols they developed. The two became widely renowned for helping people heal with these timeless techniques!
Bernhard initially had amazing success in treating a non-healing abdominal wound in a patient who was stabbed, yet unable to find a solution before using heliotherapy. Thereafter, Bernhard treated many more non-healing infected wounds with sunlight in the fresh air of the Alps, where he also treated many tuberculosis patients.
Rollier, another modern heliotherapy pioneer, became frustrated with traditional surgery and practices used for tuberculosis. Following Bernhard's lead, he began to treat non-pulmonary tuberculosis in his own clinic in the Alps. Over the next 40 years, the technique Rollier devised for exposing the body to sunlight (Rollier's Sunlight Therapy) became widely used and accepted throughout Europe [15]. Rollier once said that if you go to the beach, you get a "hot-air bath," but if you go up in the mountains, you get medical therapy. At first, he thought it was the temperature, but likely there was some other mechanism like the low oxygen tension up in the mountains which would make a person’s mitochondria more susceptible to the effects of light.
During the same era, many other doctors and healers considered sunshine a form of therapy, and they started to open clinics that were mostly located in the mountains, and initially mainly in the Swiss Alps like Bernhard and Rollier’s. [19]. With the later rise of Allopathic medicine, such therapies became branded as unscientific quackery. This unfortunately led to another mini dark age for light therapy for about four decades until the 1960's, when a new age of En-light-enment followed with the newly invented laser beam!
Rollier, another modern heliotherapy pioneer, became frustrated with traditional surgery and practices used for tuberculosis. Following Bernhard's lead, he began to treat non-pulmonary tuberculosis in his own clinic in the Alps. Over the next 40 years, the technique Rollier devised for exposing the body to sunlight (Rollier's Sunlight Therapy) became widely used and accepted throughout Europe [15]. Rollier once said that if you go to the beach, you get a "hot-air bath," but if you go up in the mountains, you get medical therapy. At first, he thought it was the temperature, but likely there was some other mechanism like the low oxygen tension up in the mountains which would make a person’s mitochondria more susceptible to the effects of light.
During the same era, many other doctors and healers considered sunshine a form of therapy, and they started to open clinics that were mostly located in the mountains, and initially mainly in the Swiss Alps like Bernhard and Rollier’s. [19]. With the later rise of Allopathic medicine, such therapies became branded as unscientific quackery. This unfortunately led to another mini dark age for light therapy for about four decades until the 1960's, when a new age of En-light-enment followed with the newly invented laser beam!
Part 3 - LLLT - Laser and LED therapy
LASERS
In his epic sci-fi novel The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells described the use of “rays of light that carry grand and mysterious powers.” Eighteen years later, Albert Einstein first proposed the theoretical basis for how lasers worked. The idea came from the newly invented quantum physics, which predicted that electromagnetic waves could stimulate atoms to emit more electromagnetic waves of the same wavelength. This is the theory of stimulated emissions and population inversion of energy, which is the theoretical basis of lasers. It may not have a catchy formula everyone knows like the Theory of Relativity’s E=MC^2, but it’s still classic Einstein. He first broached the possibility of stimulated emission in a 1917 paper, having turned his attention the year before from general relativity to the interplay of matter and radiation and how the two could achieve thermal equilibrium [18].
In his epic sci-fi novel The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells described the use of “rays of light that carry grand and mysterious powers.” Eighteen years later, Albert Einstein first proposed the theoretical basis for how lasers worked. The idea came from the newly invented quantum physics, which predicted that electromagnetic waves could stimulate atoms to emit more electromagnetic waves of the same wavelength. This is the theory of stimulated emissions and population inversion of energy, which is the theoretical basis of lasers. It may not have a catchy formula everyone knows like the Theory of Relativity’s E=MC^2, but it’s still classic Einstein. He first broached the possibility of stimulated emission in a 1917 paper, having turned his attention the year before from general relativity to the interplay of matter and radiation and how the two could achieve thermal equilibrium [18].
The invention of the laser led to the discovery of two very different medical applications. The first was using high powered lasers for many purposes, the most noteworthy of which was to perform “bloodless surgery.” In this dynamic new field, Leon Goldman, considered “father of laser medicine,” began research on how lasers could be used not only for surgery, but also to erase tattoos [22,23] and remove damaged or diseased tissue from burn wounds. [24]. In the early 1960s, Paul McGuff used a high-powered ruby laser to successfully ablate tumors, and even more excitingly, he found his laser could not only cure experimental tumors, but human tumors as well! [25].

The Birth of Low-Level Laser therapy.
Besides using high powered lasers to cut, remove and ablate, an even greater, serendipitous and unexpected discovery was that LOW power lasers, or low-level laser therapy (LLLT), could stimulate healing, repair and regeneration!
Physicist Endre Mester, inspired by the new laser technology and Paul McGuff's landmark study, obtained a custom-built ruby laser for his own use. He set out to repeat McGuff's anti-tumor laser treatment by attempting to destroy tumors that were implanted in the bellies of rats using what he thought was a high-powered laser. To Mester's disappointment, he found out that his laser was very low powered compared to McGuff's, so his attempt to destroy the tumors failed.
Besides using high powered lasers to cut, remove and ablate, an even greater, serendipitous and unexpected discovery was that LOW power lasers, or low-level laser therapy (LLLT), could stimulate healing, repair and regeneration!
Physicist Endre Mester, inspired by the new laser technology and Paul McGuff's landmark study, obtained a custom-built ruby laser for his own use. He set out to repeat McGuff's anti-tumor laser treatment by attempting to destroy tumors that were implanted in the bellies of rats using what he thought was a high-powered laser. To Mester's disappointment, he found out that his laser was very low powered compared to McGuff's, so his attempt to destroy the tumors failed.
What seemed like a failure at the time ultimately transformed the world of light therapy. Like many discoveries, Mester observed something completely unexpected with his low power laser. Because the rats were shaved to make it easier to implant the tumors, he saw that the mice experienced increased hair growth and better wound healing (from the surgical incision) with a low power laser [26]! His conclusion was that unlike ablative and damaging high levels of light, low levels of light do not only not cause damage but can actually offer biostimulating effects for therapeutic use. This accidental discovery was the first clinical demonstration of low level laser therapy, or low level light therapy (LLLT). [27-28]
Mester started treatments on skin ulcers that were the result of diabetes, burns in the skin and a host of other skin defects. Each time, the treated wound improved and regenerated faster than all the controlled wounds, whether on animals or in human clinical trials. He also noticed the anti-inflammatory effects of using this low-level laser [29]. Mester furthered his research into laser therapy until 1985, completing many papers on wound healing both pre-clinical and clinical [30-35]. His observations led the way for many studies on laser therapy up to the present time. We now have much more research and proof that low level laser therapy works. While Leon Goldman was the father of high-powered laser therapy, Mester was the father of low level!
Mester's landmark discovery launched a huge interest in research that has lasted until today, initially known as low level laser therapy (LLLT) to distinguish it from the high-powered surgical lasers used extensively nowadays for eye surgery. But lasers are not the end of the story. Yet to come was another quantum mechanics-based discovery that further revolutionized light therapy: Light Emitting Diodes aka LEDs.
Mester's landmark discovery launched a huge interest in research that has lasted until today, initially known as low level laser therapy (LLLT) to distinguish it from the high-powered surgical lasers used extensively nowadays for eye surgery. But lasers are not the end of the story. Yet to come was another quantum mechanics-based discovery that further revolutionized light therapy: Light Emitting Diodes aka LEDs.
From LASERS to LEDS
When light emitting diode (LED) technology was created towards the end of the 20th century, NASA began using it to grow plants during shuttle missions. They had great success and it was determined that light emitting diodes could in fact be used in place of natural sunlight to promote photosynthesis.
But once they discovered that these LED lights also positively affected human cells, NASA started testing and refining the technology at the Marshall Space Flight center headed by Dr Harry Whelan. They published many positive studies in the areas of wound healing, tissue regeneration and maintaining muscle and bone mass. These things are problematic for astronauts living in zero gravity conditions (and also Navy seals under intense atmospheric pressure). The studies were very successful in these areas as well. Here is a brief summary of the successful LED research piloted by Whelan.
1) In vitro cell growth of 140-200%
2) Growth increases of between 155% and 171% in normal human epithelial cells.
3) Wound size decreased up to 36%
4) Improvement of greater than 40% in muculoskeletal injuries of Navy SEAL team members.
The great success of these studies caught the attention of researchers and there are now over 1400 clinical trials and thousands of laboratory studies on the subject of low level light therapy [36].
When light emitting diode (LED) technology was created towards the end of the 20th century, NASA began using it to grow plants during shuttle missions. They had great success and it was determined that light emitting diodes could in fact be used in place of natural sunlight to promote photosynthesis.
But once they discovered that these LED lights also positively affected human cells, NASA started testing and refining the technology at the Marshall Space Flight center headed by Dr Harry Whelan. They published many positive studies in the areas of wound healing, tissue regeneration and maintaining muscle and bone mass. These things are problematic for astronauts living in zero gravity conditions (and also Navy seals under intense atmospheric pressure). The studies were very successful in these areas as well. Here is a brief summary of the successful LED research piloted by Whelan.
1) In vitro cell growth of 140-200%
2) Growth increases of between 155% and 171% in normal human epithelial cells.
3) Wound size decreased up to 36%
4) Improvement of greater than 40% in muculoskeletal injuries of Navy SEAL team members.
The great success of these studies caught the attention of researchers and there are now over 1400 clinical trials and thousands of laboratory studies on the subject of low level light therapy [36].
This brings us to the present day and the rising effectiveness and popularity of red light therapy, which has become a household word. The remainder of this book will explore the how and why of its many transformational benefits. Its rise in popularity is in part due to its LEDs panels and beds being more cost efficient, safer and equally effective as lasers. Studies by Michael Hamblin and others have shown there is no peer reviewed evidence that lasers work better than LEDs anyway.
Reviewing the history of light therapy, we should note that all the protocols of heliotherapy, both ancient and recent, and all the original "light baths" using light bulbs, were full body immersions in light! It is the thesis of this book that the best way to use red light therapy is to take a full body approach, if it is within your budget to do so. But even the smaller panels will rival lasers in the benefits you can derive from them. Now that we’ve presented this "light" history of photo-medicine, in the next chapter we will delve into an deeper question, and that is the question of "What is Light". We will introduce important concepts and terminology around the physics of light that will be used throughout the rest of the book.
Reviewing the history of light therapy, we should note that all the protocols of heliotherapy, both ancient and recent, and all the original "light baths" using light bulbs, were full body immersions in light! It is the thesis of this book that the best way to use red light therapy is to take a full body approach, if it is within your budget to do so. But even the smaller panels will rival lasers in the benefits you can derive from them. Now that we’ve presented this "light" history of photo-medicine, in the next chapter we will delve into an deeper question, and that is the question of "What is Light". We will introduce important concepts and terminology around the physics of light that will be used throughout the rest of the book.
References
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[1] Giese, A.C. (1964) Historical introduction. In Photophysiology Vol. 1. (Edited by A.C. Giese), pp. 1-18. Academic Press, New York.
[2] Mead, R. (1748) A treatise concerning the influence of the sun and moon upon human bodies, and the diseases thereby produced (English translation by T. Stack). Brindley, London.
[3] Raum, J. (1889) Der gegenwartige Stand unserer Kenntnisse über den Einfluss des Lichtes auf Bacterien und auf den thierischen Organismus. Z. Hyg. Infektionskr. 6, 312-368.
[4] Freund, L. (1904) Elements of General Radio-Therapy for Practitioners (English translation by G.H. Lancashire). Rebman, New York.New York.
[5] Rollier, A. (1923) Heliotherapy. Oxford Medical Publishers, London.
[6] Goodman, H. (1926) The Basis of Light Therapy. Medical Lay Press, New York.
[7] Russell, E.H. and W.K. Russell (1927) Ultraviolet Radiation and Actinotherapy. William Wood, New York.
[8] Loebel, L. (1815) Wichitige Ansichten über die Berücksichtigung der Insolation in mehreren Uebelseynsformen, vorzüglich in der Amaurose und über die Realisirung der Idee eines Sonnenbades. J. der practischen Heilkunde 40, 56-85.
[9] Bonnet, A. (1845) Traite des maladies des articulations. Bailliere, Paris.
[10] Wehr, T.A. and N.E. Rosenthal (1989) Seasonality and affective illness. Am. J.
Psychiatry 146, 829-839.
[11] Ponza, G. (1876) De l’influence de la lumiere coloree dans le traitement de la folie. Ann. Med. Psychol., Series 5, 15, 20.
[12] Hasselbalch, K.A. (1905) Die Wirkungen des chemischen Lichtbades auf Respiration und Blutdruck. Skand. Arch. Physiol. 17, 431-472.
[13] Siebeck, R. (1946) Gedenktage: Dr. Helmut Marx. Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. 71, 322.
[14] Lewy, A.J., H.E. Kern, N.E. Rosenthal and T.A. Wehr (1982) Bright artificial light treatment of a manic-depressive patient with a seasonal mood cycle. Am. J. Psychiatry 139, 1496-1498.
[15] Downes, A., and T. P. Blunt. 1877. Researches on the effect of light upon bacteria and other organisms. Proc Royal Soc London 26:488–500.
[16] Finsen, N.R. (1901) Phototherapy (translated into English by J. H. Sequeira). Edward Arnold Press, London
[17] Laurens, H. (1928) The physiological effects of radiation. Physiol. Rev. 8, 1-91.
[18] Duggar, B.M. (1936) Effects of Radiation on bacteria. In Biological Effects of Radiation (Edited by B.M. Duggar), pp. 1119-1149. McGraw-Hill Co., New York.
[19] . Rollier, A. (1923) Heliotherapy. Oxford Medical Publishers, London.
[20] https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200508/history.cfm
[21] T.H. Maiman, "Stimulated optical radiation in ruby," Nature 187(4736) 493-494 (1960).
[22] L. Goldman, "Effect of the laser beam on the skin. Preliminary report," J. Invest. Dermatol. 40, 121-2 (1963).
[23] L. Goldman, "Radiation from a Q-Switched Ruby Laser. Effect of Repeated Impacts of Power Output of 10 Megawatts on a Tattoo of Man," J. Invest. Dermatol. 44, 69-71 (1965)
[24] L. Goldman and R.J. Rockwell, Jr., "Laser systems and their applications in medicine and biology," Adv. Biomed. Eng. Med. Phys. 1, 317-82 (1968).
[25] McGuff PE, Deterling RA Jr, Gottlieb LS. Tumoricidal effect of laser energy on experimental and human malignant tumors. N Engl J Med. 1965 Aug 26;273(9):490-2.
[26] L. Gaspar, "Professor Endre Mester, the father of photobiomodulation," J. Laser Denistry. 17, 146-148 (2009).
[27] E. Mester, "The Stimulating effect of low power laser rays on biological systems," Laser Rev. 1, 3 (1968).
[28] E. Mester, B. Szende and P. Gartner, The effect of laser beams on the growth of hair in mice, Radiobiol Radiother (Berl) 9 (1968) 621-6.
[29] E. Mester, "Studies on the inhibiting and activating effects of laser beams," Langenbecks Arch Chir. 322, 1022-7 (1968).
[30] E. Mester, "Laser Stimulation of Wound Healing," Acta. Chir. Acad. Sci. Hung. 17(1), 49-55 (1976).
[31] E. Mester, T. Spiry, and B. Szende, "Effect of laser rays on wound healing," Bull. Soc. Int. Chir. 32(2), 169-73 (1973).
[32] E. Mester, "Stimulation of wound healing by means of laser rays. (Clinical and electron microscopical study)," Acta. Chir. Acad. Sci. Hung. 14(4), 347-56 (1973).
[33] E. Mester, "The effect of laser irradiation on the regeneration of muscle fibers (preliminary report)," Z. Exp. Chir. 8(4), 258-62 (1975).
[34] E. Mester, "Laser treatment of coumarin-induced skin necrosis," Acta. Chir. Acad. Sci. Hung. 18(2), 141-8 (1977).
[35] E. Mester, A.F. Mester, and A. Mester, "The biomedical effects of laser application," Lasers Surg. Med. 5(1), 31-9 (1985).
[36] Whelan, H.T., Smits Jr., R.L., Buchmann, E.V., Whelan, N.T., Turner, S.G., Margolis, D.A., et al., 2001. Effect of NASA light-emitting diode irradia- tion on wound healing. J. Clin. Laser Med. Surg. 19, 305314.
******END OF CHAPTER*****
NO MORE EDITING OR ILLUSTRATIONS PAST THIS POINT
NO MORE EDITING OR ILLUSTRATIONS PAST THIS POINT

***END CHAPTER**
Special High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or HEALS technology developed for NASA's commercial plant growth experiments in space is helping to treat cancer and save lives on Earth. NASA has partnered with Quantum Devices Inc. (QDI) of Barneveld Wis., to develop the WARP 75 light delivery system device for wound healing. A two-year clinical trial using the WARP 75 device on cancer patients undergoing bone marrow or stem cell transplants, concluded that there was a 96-percent chance that the improvement in pain relief of those in the high-risk patient group was the result of the HEALS treatment. The clinical trial was funded by NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The NASA program works with industry and commercial partners to spinoff space technology and adapt it for new, innovative applications. (NASA/Higginbotham.
Special High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or HEALS technology developed for NASA's commercial plant growth experiments in space is helping to treat cancer and save lives on Earth. NASA has partnered with Quantum Devices Inc. (QDI) of Barneveld Wis., to develop the WARP 75 light delivery system device for wound healing. A two-year clinical trial using the WARP 75 device on cancer patients undergoing bone marrow or stem cell transplants, concluded that there was a 96-percent chance that the improvement in pain relief of those in the high-risk patient group was the result of the HEALS treatment. The clinical trial was funded by NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The NASA program works with industry and commercial partners to spinoff space technology and adapt it for new, innovative applications. (NASA/Higginbotham.
LEDs has been employed with success in various types of applications, including wound healing in animals and humans, tissue growth, and animal models of methanol toxicity, stroke, Parkinson disease, and Alzheimer disease (Whelan et al., 2001; Duan et al., 2003; Eells et al., 2003; Choi et al., 2012; Quirk et al., 2012; Grillo et al., 2013).
**Duan, R., Zhu, L., Liu, T.C.-Y., Li, Y., Liu, J., Jiao, J., et al., 2003. Light emitting diode irradiation protect against the amyloid beta 25-35 induced apoptosis of PC12 cell in vitro. Lasers Surg. Med. 33, 199203.
**Eells, J.T., Henry, M.M., Summerfelt, P., Wong-Riley, M.T.T., Buchmann, E.V., Kane, M., et al., 2003. Therapeutic photobiomodulation for methanol-induced retinal toxicity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 34393444.
**Choi, D.-H., Lee, K.-H., Kim, J.-H., Kim, M.Y., Lim, J.H., 2012. Effect of 710 nm visible light irradiation on neurite outgrowth in primary rat cortical neurons following ischemic insults. Biochim. Biophys. Res. Commun. 422, 274279.
**Quirk, B.J., DeSmet, K.D., Henry, M., Buchmann, E., Wong-Riley, M., Eells, J.T., et al., 2012. Therapeutic effect of near infrared (NIR) light on
Parkinson’s disease models. Front. Biosci. 4, 818823.
**Grillo, S.L., Duggett, N.A., Ennaceur, A., Chazot, P.L., 2013. Non-invasive infra-red therapy (1072 nm) reduces β-amyloid protein levels in the brain
of an Alzheimer’s d
Endre Meister
In 1967, a few years after the first working laser was invented, Endre Mester in Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary wanted to test if laser radiation might cause cancer in mice [1]. He shaved the dorsal hair, divided them into two groups and gave a laser treatment with a low powered ruby laser (694 nm) to one group. They did not get cancer, and to his surprise the hair on the treated group grew back more quickly than the untreated group. This was the first demonstration of "laser biostimulation".
In fact, light therapy is one of the oldest therapeutic methods used by humans (historically as solar therapy by Egyptians, later as UV therapy for which Nils Finsen won the Nobel prize in 1904 [2]). The use of lasers and LEDs as light sources was the next step in the technological development of light therapy, which is now applied to many thousands of people worldwide each day. In LLLT, the question is no longer whether light has biological effects, but rather how energy from therapeutic lasers and LEDs work at the cellular and organism levels, and what are the optimal light parameters for different uses of these light sources.
[2] R. Roelandts, The history of phototherapy: something new under the sun?, J Am Acad Dermatol 46 (2002) 926-30.
**Duan, R., Zhu, L., Liu, T.C.-Y., Li, Y., Liu, J., Jiao, J., et al., 2003. Light emitting diode irradiation protect against the amyloid beta 25-35 induced apoptosis of PC12 cell in vitro. Lasers Surg. Med. 33, 199203.
**Eells, J.T., Henry, M.M., Summerfelt, P., Wong-Riley, M.T.T., Buchmann, E.V., Kane, M., et al., 2003. Therapeutic photobiomodulation for methanol-induced retinal toxicity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 34393444.
**Choi, D.-H., Lee, K.-H., Kim, J.-H., Kim, M.Y., Lim, J.H., 2012. Effect of 710 nm visible light irradiation on neurite outgrowth in primary rat cortical neurons following ischemic insults. Biochim. Biophys. Res. Commun. 422, 274279.
**Quirk, B.J., DeSmet, K.D., Henry, M., Buchmann, E., Wong-Riley, M., Eells, J.T., et al., 2012. Therapeutic effect of near infrared (NIR) light on
Parkinson’s disease models. Front. Biosci. 4, 818823.
**Grillo, S.L., Duggett, N.A., Ennaceur, A., Chazot, P.L., 2013. Non-invasive infra-red therapy (1072 nm) reduces β-amyloid protein levels in the brain
of an Alzheimer’s d
Endre Meister
In 1967, a few years after the first working laser was invented, Endre Mester in Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary wanted to test if laser radiation might cause cancer in mice [1]. He shaved the dorsal hair, divided them into two groups and gave a laser treatment with a low powered ruby laser (694 nm) to one group. They did not get cancer, and to his surprise the hair on the treated group grew back more quickly than the untreated group. This was the first demonstration of "laser biostimulation".
In fact, light therapy is one of the oldest therapeutic methods used by humans (historically as solar therapy by Egyptians, later as UV therapy for which Nils Finsen won the Nobel prize in 1904 [2]). The use of lasers and LEDs as light sources was the next step in the technological development of light therapy, which is now applied to many thousands of people worldwide each day. In LLLT, the question is no longer whether light has biological effects, but rather how energy from therapeutic lasers and LEDs work at the cellular and organism levels, and what are the optimal light parameters for different uses of these light sources.
[2] R. Roelandts, The history of phototherapy: something new under the sun?, J Am Acad Dermatol 46 (2002) 926-30.

Fritz Popp
Nobel Prize nominee Dr. Fritz Albert Popp describes the biofield we discussed in module 1 using a different term... biophotons. In modern quantum field theory, light occurs in small packets of energy called photons. In living systems and processes, certain types of photons are emitted and received primarily by DNA as well as a few large macromolecules. These biophotons are extremely coherent and serve as a function of communications, stimulation of biochemical reactions, and coordination within the body. Biophotons appear to create a holographic, coherent electromagnetic field throughout the body that uses electromagnetic frequencies for instantaneous communication throughout the system.
Popp proved conclusively that all the cells in the body actually store, emit and communicate via small packets of coherent light energy known as ‘biophoton emissions’. It’s like having our own internal, fibre-optic communication network! This is how all organic life is able to communicate. Humans are very much like plants in the way that our body is able to store light – and it is this light that is used to transmit information between cells. Scientists have discovered that a basic building block for blood, the ‘heme’ molecule, is almost identical to the ‘chlorophyll’ molecule in plants; and both molecules react in exactly the same way to light.
"We know today that man is essentially a being of light. And the modern science of photobiology ... is presently proving this. In terms of healing ... the implications are immense. We now know, for example, that ... light can initiate, or arrest, cascade-like reactions in the cells, and that genetic cellular damage can be virtually repaired, within hours, by faint beams of light. We are still on the threshold of fully understanding the complex relationship between light and life, but we can now say, emphatically that the function of our entire metabolism is dependent on light."
- Fritz Popp
Nobel Prize nominee Dr. Fritz Albert Popp describes the biofield we discussed in module 1 using a different term... biophotons. In modern quantum field theory, light occurs in small packets of energy called photons. In living systems and processes, certain types of photons are emitted and received primarily by DNA as well as a few large macromolecules. These biophotons are extremely coherent and serve as a function of communications, stimulation of biochemical reactions, and coordination within the body. Biophotons appear to create a holographic, coherent electromagnetic field throughout the body that uses electromagnetic frequencies for instantaneous communication throughout the system.
Popp proved conclusively that all the cells in the body actually store, emit and communicate via small packets of coherent light energy known as ‘biophoton emissions’. It’s like having our own internal, fibre-optic communication network! This is how all organic life is able to communicate. Humans are very much like plants in the way that our body is able to store light – and it is this light that is used to transmit information between cells. Scientists have discovered that a basic building block for blood, the ‘heme’ molecule, is almost identical to the ‘chlorophyll’ molecule in plants; and both molecules react in exactly the same way to light.
"We know today that man is essentially a being of light. And the modern science of photobiology ... is presently proving this. In terms of healing ... the implications are immense. We now know, for example, that ... light can initiate, or arrest, cascade-like reactions in the cells, and that genetic cellular damage can be virtually repaired, within hours, by faint beams of light. We are still on the threshold of fully understanding the complex relationship between light and life, but we can now say, emphatically that the function of our entire metabolism is dependent on light."
- Fritz Popp
It’s called Heliotherapy. One of Heliotherapy’s first uses was for tuberculosis. Prior to the use of drug therapy, patients with tuberculosis spent hours each day in the sun. It was thought that the sun acted as a bactericide, killing the Tubercular bacillus.
Also sunlight therapy was used for Rickets, Small Pox and in World War 1 for war wounds AND MORE.
Heliotherapy Pioneers in early 1900's (before antibiotics)
*Dr Niels Finsen (Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1903), *Dr Auguste Rollier (Rollier Method), *Dr Oskar Bernhard (Healer of Wounds), *Sir Henry Gauvin (Added Seabathing to therapy).
Later it was theorized that the vitamin D created in the skin also attacked the TB bacillus, though there is no evidence that cod liver oil (high in vitamin D and once sold to treat TB) ever cured tuberculosis. Whatever the answer, sun therapy helped heal tuberculosis; this is a fact.
3 Discoveries Made By These Heliotherapy Pioneers (which are further tips to keep in mind)
Discovery 1: (Importance of Fresh Air): Heliotherapy clinics back in early 1900's emphasized sunbathing in cool and fresh air (they emphasized cold and fresh air). Fresh air was also a big part of the process. We will talk more about Fresh clean air and health in the NEXT module/Video. But it was vert much an essential part of these famous heliotherapy clinics (as was a healthy diet).
Discovery 2: (Importance of Going Slow) - Rollier's Sanatariums found that sick people needed to be taken very slowly!
Discovery 3: (Early Morning Best) These Sanatariums found that EARLY morning sun exposure was the most beneficial, perhaps telling your body to wake up and make serotonin and keep your circadian rhythms in harmony with Nature (just as darkness at night).
Discovery 4: Face and Torso most sensitive (especially face and neck)
Discovery 5: High elevation clinics have MORE UV radiation and it was found that this had a MORE POWERFUL healing effect further showing we need natural UV.
Also a problem with our current generation of children is LACK of outdoor activities (fresh air and sunshine). Also adults. It is one of the silent plagues of our time that we spend TOO MUCH time indoors!! Actually that is ONE OF THE MAIN CAUSES OF ILLNESS AND DISEASE. These outdoor sanatariums were PROOF of this most important point of energy medicine!!
Also sunlight therapy was used for Rickets, Small Pox and in World War 1 for war wounds AND MORE.
Heliotherapy Pioneers in early 1900's (before antibiotics)
*Dr Niels Finsen (Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1903), *Dr Auguste Rollier (Rollier Method), *Dr Oskar Bernhard (Healer of Wounds), *Sir Henry Gauvin (Added Seabathing to therapy).
Later it was theorized that the vitamin D created in the skin also attacked the TB bacillus, though there is no evidence that cod liver oil (high in vitamin D and once sold to treat TB) ever cured tuberculosis. Whatever the answer, sun therapy helped heal tuberculosis; this is a fact.
3 Discoveries Made By These Heliotherapy Pioneers (which are further tips to keep in mind)
Discovery 1: (Importance of Fresh Air): Heliotherapy clinics back in early 1900's emphasized sunbathing in cool and fresh air (they emphasized cold and fresh air). Fresh air was also a big part of the process. We will talk more about Fresh clean air and health in the NEXT module/Video. But it was vert much an essential part of these famous heliotherapy clinics (as was a healthy diet).
Discovery 2: (Importance of Going Slow) - Rollier's Sanatariums found that sick people needed to be taken very slowly!
Discovery 3: (Early Morning Best) These Sanatariums found that EARLY morning sun exposure was the most beneficial, perhaps telling your body to wake up and make serotonin and keep your circadian rhythms in harmony with Nature (just as darkness at night).
Discovery 4: Face and Torso most sensitive (especially face and neck)
Discovery 5: High elevation clinics have MORE UV radiation and it was found that this had a MORE POWERFUL healing effect further showing we need natural UV.
Also a problem with our current generation of children is LACK of outdoor activities (fresh air and sunshine). Also adults. It is one of the silent plagues of our time that we spend TOO MUCH time indoors!! Actually that is ONE OF THE MAIN CAUSES OF ILLNESS AND DISEASE. These outdoor sanatariums were PROOF of this most important point of energy medicine!!
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