Photobiomodulation and Migraine: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.
The review describes biological reasons PBM may deserve study for migraine, but migraine-specific human evidence remains limited and no treatment protocol is established.
Machado LDS, Schwartz AY, Lizarelli RFZ, Salgado ASI, Lopes-Martins RÁB, Gomes da Silva S, Cardoso FDS.
Photobiomodulation, photomedicine, and laser surgery · Publication date: 2026-09-17
Added to site: 2026-09-18
DOI: 10.1177/25785478261486506
First electronic publication date verified in PubMed, Europe PMC and Crossref.
- Modalities
- PBM
- Clinical focus
- Migraine, Mitochondrial function, Neuroinflammation
- Population
- Migraine is the proposed clinical population; much of the summarized support is mechanistic or preclinical
- Sample
- Not applicable; the accessible abstract does not report the number of included studies
- Intervention / method
- Review of red and near-infrared photobiomodulation mechanisms and migraine-relevant evidence
- Comparator
- Not applicable
Clinician summary
The authors synthesize mitochondrial, redox, nitric-oxide, neurovascular and neuroinflammatory pathways, plus relevant preclinical models. They call for controlled clinical trials to define efficacy and parameters.
How to interpret the findings
This is a narrative rather than systematic review, study counts and evidence grading are absent from the abstract, and mechanistic or animal findings cannot establish clinical efficacy or disease modification in people with migraine.
Equipment and disclosures
No specific device or treatment protocol was evaluated in the accessible abstract.
Funding and competing-interest details were not available in the checked indexed record.
Related evidence
Compare findings from the same clinical area, including mixed results.
- Photobiomodulation attenuates corticosterone-induced neuronal injury via activation of the AMPK/ULK1 signaling pathway. · Positive with limitations
- Photobiomodulation as a regulator of neuroinflammation: mechanistic insights and therapeutic potential in brain disorders · Mixed
Summary prepared with AI assistance. Source verification does not imply an independent replication or a clinician's endorsement. Read our review method.