Photobiomodulation in Parkinson’s disease: From pathogenesis to intervention

Published October 24, 2026. Laboratory research gives PBM a plausible investigational rationale in Parkinson’s disease, and early clinical work suggests feasibility and acceptable short-term safety. Human benefit remains uncertain because studies are small, protocols differ and controlled findings are inconsistent.

Shao J, Deng Q, Yang L.
Experimental Neurology · Publication date: 2026-10-24
Added to site: 2026-10-25
DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2026.116088

Published October 24, 2026. Added to Neurofeedback.com October 25, 2026.

Modalities

Photobiomodulation, Red light, Near-infrared light

Clinical focus

Parkinson’s disease, Neuroprotection, Translation from preclinical research

Population

Preclinical Parkinson’s disease models and people with Parkinson’s disease discussed across the reviewed literature

Sample

Narrative review; the checked abstract does not report a systematic study count or pooled participant denominator

Intervention / method

Review of PBM rationale involving mitochondrial function, neuroinflammation, dopaminergic-neuron survival, alpha-synuclein biology and the microbiota-gut-brain axis, followed by preclinical and clinical evidence appraisal

Comparator

No pooled comparator; evidence spans experimental models, feasibility observations and heterogeneous controlled clinical studies

Clinician summary

The review describes more consistent preclinical neuroprotective signals than clinical efficacy evidence. Direct support for changing alpha-synuclein aggregation or propagation remains sparse. The authors conclude that PBM should be regarded as an investigational adjunct rather than an established Parkinson’s therapy.

How to interpret the findings

This is a narrative rather than prospectively registered systematic review, with no reported pooled effects, certainty grading or complete denominator in the checked abstract. Mechanistic and animal findings cannot establish human clinical benefit. Clinical studies were small and heterogeneous, with inconsistent controlled outcomes and insufficient evidence for protocol, dose, target, durability or disease modification.

Equipment and disclosures

The review covers heterogeneous visible and near-infrared PBM approaches. No commercial system is established as superior, and no equipment is attributed to BrainMaster.

The retained Crossref record lists the National Natural Science Foundation of China as a funder. Competing-interest details were not available in the checked PubMed abstract. No indexed correction, retraction or expression-of-concern relation appeared in the retained PubMed or Crossref records; this is a bounded check. AI-assisted source review.

Related evidence

Compare findings from the same clinical area, including mixed results.