intravenous laser blood irradiation in chronic pain and fibromyalgia

Intravenous laser blood irradiation was first introduced into therapy by the Soviet scientists EN.Meschalkin and VS.Sergiewski in 1981. Originally this method was developed for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Improvement of rheologic properties of the blood as well as improvement of microcirculation and reduction of the area of infarction has been proved. Further, reduction of dysrhythmia and sudden cardiac death was achieved. At first, only the Helium-Neon laser [632.8 nm] was used in this therapy. For that, a power of 1-3mW and a period of exposure of 20-60 minutes were applied. The treatments were carried out once or twice a day up to ten appointments in all1. In the years after, many, and for the most part Russian studies showed that helium-neon laser had various effects on many organs and on the hematologic and immunologic system. The studies were published mainly in Russian which were little known in the West because of decades of political separation, and were regarded with disapproval. Besides clinical research and application for patients, the cell biological basis was developed by the Estonian cell biologist Tiina Karu at the same time. An abstract is to be found in her work "The Science of Low-Power Laser-Therapy"

Effect of cryoanalgesia on post-thoracotomy pain

We prepared this study to determine the effect of cryoanalgesia on post-thoracotomy pain. In this double-blinded randomized clinical trial, 60 patients who underwent thoracotomy were divided into two groups [control and cryoanalgesia]. Visual Analogue Scale [VAS, 0-10] was used for the measurement of severity of post-thoracotomy pain. It was classified into three categories: 0-1 [mild], 2-3 [moderate], and 4-10 [severe]. Pethidine [0.5-1 mg/kg] was administered in case of need for both groups. Patients were visited at the hospital a week later, and were contacted by phone at the first, second, and third months post-operatively. Intensity of pain in the control group was higher than the cryoanalgesia group in all visits the follow-up period. On the second day, the frequencies of severe pain [4-10] were 33.3% and 0 in the control and cryoanalgesia groups, respectively. The mild pain on the seventh day was 13.3% and 83.3% in the control and cryoanalgesia groups, respectively [P < 0.01]. Pethidine consumption was 151.6 +/- 27 mg in the control group and 87.5 +/- 48 mg in the cryoanalgesia group on the first day post-operation [P < 0.001]. Cryoanalgesia is a useful technique with not serious side effects in order to alleviate post-thoracotomy pain and reduce the need for opiate consumption