“Various people have shown that the same molecules are expressed in the brain whether you apply light or exercise.”
“Cells use light to communicate with each other, and they use light to repair each other if they’re damaged.” — John Mitrofanis
Our brain needs red and infrared light to function well. It’s primarily the mitochondria in our brain that absorb red and infrared light and use that light to boost cognition and energy. Given the brain is one of the most energy hungry organs in the body, it is packed with mitochondria which rely on infrared light to function optimally.
Mitochondrial dysfunction is also a hallmark of most brain disorders including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, depression. So, the question John Mitrofanis has spent 20 years on is: If infrared light restores the mitochondria, can it save the brain cells that die in Parkinson’s?
John Mitrofanis is a neuroanatomist and Scientific Director of Fonds Clinatec in Grenoble, France, the research centre founded by Alim-Louis Benabid, the father of deep brain stimulation. He is also an honorary Professor at University College London’s Institute of Ophthalmology, and was Professor of Anatomy at the University of Sydney for over a decade. He is the author of Run in the Light: Exploring Exercise and Photobiomodulation in Parkinson’s Disease.
In animal studies, he showed that near-infrared light protected the dopamine cells that die in Parkinson’s. That work led to an implanted device now being trialed in patients at Clinatec. We get into the differences between deep brain stimulation and light therapy for the brain, and also how he uses infrared light as a preventative treatment for brain disorders.
Towards the end, we also discuss how our cells emit light! It’s called biophotons and is the frontier of medicine. He says cancer cells, for example, emit UV light and different light signals emitted by cells is used in repair and communication.
Many more gems in the episode including how Parkinson’s may begin in the gut, near-infrared light to help with sleep, and the shared mechanism between light treatment and exercise.
“I know for one, if I had a heart attack, I would be putting whatever light device I have over my sternum, over my chest, and help the recovery.” — John Mitrofanis
What we discuss in this episode:
Why light and exercise release the same molecules in the brain, and what BDNF does.
How red and near-infrared light restores mitochondrial function in cells that are dying.
How Parkinson’s may begin in the gut.
Why current Parkinson’s drugs and deep brain stimulation relieve symptoms but don’t stop the cells from dying.
The mouse studies that showed neuroprotection with infrared light, and the intracranial device now in a 7 patient trial.
Why light shone on the body can protect cells in the brain, and what’s travelling through the blood.
Red light and sleep: the glymphatic system, brain fog, and why he uses a red light treatment helmet every day.
What wavelength to use, 670 vs 810 vs 850, and why devices are pulsed at 40 hertz.
Biophotons: the light your cells emit, and why distressed cells and healthy cells emit different wavelengths.
Where he disagrees with Glen Jeffery on how deep light actually penetrates.
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Timestamps:
00:00 Cells use light to repair each other
01:00 Red light and exercise work on the same mechanism
02:50 BDNF: the molecule both exercise and light release
06:11 Blue light suppresses melatonin, red light repairs cells
09:00 The Nobel Prize won with red light, and the laser that failed to cure cancer
14:02 What deep brain stimulation actually does
14:54 Why the Parkinson's brain becomes "very, very naughty"
16:17 The beauty of deep brain stimulation, and its limit
18:40 "You apply red light on it." And I laughed
20:57 The light-treated mice kept more dopamine cells alive
23:36 Results of red light to the brain clinical trial
24:16 Is it already too late once symptoms appear?
26:48 Where he disagrees with Glen Jeffery on how deep light penetrates
28:58 Light on the body that reached the brain
31:33 Microvesicles: how cells in trouble call for help
33:12 Does Parkinson's start in the gut?
37:32 Could you skip the device and just sit in the sun?
42:06 What other Parkinson's trials are actually running
44:43 Epilepsy, autism, and cancer
45:56 The cancer evidence that cuts both ways
47:01 What's holding the trials back
48:10 Red light and sleep
49:05 We still don't know why we sleep
01:00:17 He wears the helmet every day
01:02:27 Health Stacked
01:03:15 Red light after a heart attack
01:06:41 670, 810 or 850: which wavelength and how deep
01:08:53 Why pulsing works better than leaving it on
01:09:41 How to use a helmet at home
01:11:32 Why 40 hertz seems to be the magic number
01:12:03 Does the time of day matter?
01:16:00 Biophotons: the light inside us
01:20:03 Healthy cells glow red. Distressed cells glow blue.
01:22:28 Cancer cells and UV
01:30:22 Biophotons are the frontier
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