Summary of intranasal blood irradiation phototherapy device for anti-aging health

Aging inevitably makes the body susceptible to many diseases and disorders. Much of this is due to increasing poorer blood circulation as the tissues of the body loses vigor and the various components lose the flexibility of youth. Ancient Chinese physicians associate the tendency of stasis in the slowing blood circulatory system. Traditional needle acupuncture has been used through the centuries to slow this degeneration but there is little empirical evidence to support its effectiveness. However targeted studies have found intranasal or endonasal blood irradiation therapy to be successful even though like needle acupuncture, it follows the key Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principle of liberating the blood circulatory channels. This is what the Qi-Light and RadiantLife LT phototherapy devices do.





Studies on intranasal blood irradiation therapy devices on age-related disease

In TCM, much of age related ailments can be traced back to the quality of blood circulation, and this is related to the viscosity and red blood cell (RBC) aggregation factors, as expounded further below.

High blood viscosity is associated with old age

There are several studies that found that blood viscosity increases with age. One such study in was designed to assess the frequency of changes in the viscosity of 500 men and 500 women between the ages of 40 and 55 years.[1] This study established the link between old age and blood viscosity. This is significant because if we can reduce blood viscosity, it also means that we have a way to reduce the scourge of a number of health issues that are related to old age.

A number of established ageing-related disorders and diseases are linked to high blood viscosity. Many of these stem from poor blood circulation. The well-known age-related disorders include:
- dementia [2]
- high blood pressure [3]
- diabetes [4]
- peripheral arterial/vascular disease [4]
- cold intolerance, etc.
The mechanism that result in these will not be a challenge to most human biologists if the base explanation is related to compromised blood circulation.

Ajmani and Rifkind in their study on hemorheological changes during human aging found that the blood of people aged 60 years and older was viscous and poorly filterable.[6] Other studies that focus on regional cerebral blood flow during aging have compatible results. A Swedish study of cerebral blood flow in 97 subjects aged between 19 and 68 years of age concluded that, “…the mean cerebral blood flow decreased progressively with age.”[7] This finding is not much different from that of an English study of regional cerebral blood flow in 30 and 80 years. The authors noted that, “Decreases in regional cerebral blood flow suggest a regional specific loss of cerebral function with age.”[8]

Red blood cell aggregation is strongly associated with blood viscosity and independently with ageing-related diseases

For decades it has been known that macro proteins fibrinogen and globulins may increase blood viscosity by interaction with RBCs to increase aggregation. Chien et al discussed this in 1970.[9] Ajmani and Rifkind discussed the various reports, which showed that aging is associated with an increase in the blood levels of fibrinogen.[10] Fibrinogen is inflammation-sensitive and is a dominant factor in RBC aggregation.[11] RBC aggregation is also linked to whole blood viscosity. Therefore it is common to find high blood viscosity as well as RBC aggregation in the blood properties of elderly people.

In a study that observed blood samples of healthy subjects between the ages of 20 to 65 years, it was found that RBC aggregation increases significantly for those of ages above 40 years when compared with younger control groups of between 20 to 30 years old. We can therefore expect RBC aggregation as strongly associated with ageing along with the earlier mentioned age-related diseases that it will expose the elderly population to.[12]

Typical blood samples of an aging subject with elevated blood viscosity and RBC aggregation is illustrated in Figure 1 below.



Figure 1: Typical sample of an ageing subject with RBC aggregation

Fibrinogen was found to have mechanisms that encourage the RBCs to bind together.[13] The body elevates the level of fibrinogen when there is inflammation, resulting in RBC aggregation. This means that you can attribute the presence of blood aggregation to the presence of illness or any phenomenon that causes inflammation in the body.

Leshke reiterated that, “Hyperfibrinogenemia with resulting increase in plasma viscosity and erythrocyte aggregation has been demonstrated in patients with coronary heart disease.[14] This study has focused on the role that fibrinogen plays in plasma viscosity, elevating the risk of ischaemia (reduced blood supply to the heart muscles, causing chest pain).

Elevated levels of fibrinogen, as well as high blood viscosity present should be worthy of concern. They increase the risk of venous thrombosis or clotting in the blood vessels, setting the stage for heart attacks and stroke.[15] It is therefore imperative that patients exhibiting these symptoms be prescribed agents that could specifically reduce this risk factor.

Whether it is the presence of both fibrinogen and globulin or either of them that is associated with RBC aggregation, the news is not good. They are elevated because of a disease or health disorder. Other factors do contribute to RBC aggregation; some of these are not be of serious concern. A list of influencing factors are:

• Biochemical parameters: plasma ionic strength, pH, temperature, plasma viscosity, superficial ionic charges, age, shape of RBCs.

• Haemorheological factors: plasma viscosity, hematocrit, a2-macroglobulin, and RBC deformity. Fibrinogen comes under this category.

• Haemodynamic factors: shear stress, shear rate, vessel diameter, blood velocity, fluid motion characteristics and vessel wall shear stress.[16]

• Hyperlipidemia (elevated level of lipids that includes cholesterols and triglycerides)[17] and elevated levels of lipoprotein cholesterols[18].

Reducing high blood viscosity and RBC aggregation

The physician usually prescribes one of the popular pharmaceutical “blood thinners” such as Aspirin, Warfarin (Coumadin) or Plavix (Clopidogrel) as remedy. Not many western trained physicians know or seriously consider this: red light therapy through irradiation of the blood produces similar results for the long term without the side effects.

A study investigated the effect of laser therapy on patients who suffered acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). It looked at the levels of fibrinogen, platelet aggregation, blood viscosity, anti-thrombin III, and fibrinogen fragments on the fifth and 10th day of treatment. It was found that laser therapy lessened cardiac pain and arrhythmias with improvement in hemorheological properties.Readings for blood viscosity, fibrinogen and platelet aggregation were normalised on the 10th day.[19]

A 30 minute treatment with the Qi-Light by RadiantLife is able to disaggregate the aggregated RBC, immediately alleviating one of the major factors behind the various diseases associated with age. Along with it, blood viscosity should also positively respond.

The device is illustrated in Figure 2 below.




Figure 2: Qi-Light by RadiantLife in use

The typical effect on blood is exhibited in the figure below.




Before treatment                       After treatment


Further information on the theory behind red blood cell aggregation can be found in a related webpage in this website.

Effect on atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a common disorder associated with aging. In 1984, this method was employed in the treatment of 133 patients. Of these patients, 102 were with atherosclerosis obliterans of the lower limb vessels, 17 with endarteritis obliterans, and 14 with Raynaud's syndrome. Intravenous laser therapy proved to be the most effective in atherosclerotic involvement of the vessels, with positive results achieved in 77.5 percent of patients. The length of remission was up to six months.[20]


References

1. Bowlder AJ, Foster AM. The effect of donor age on the flow properties of blood. Part 1. Plasma and the whole blood viscosity in adult males. Exp Gerontol 1987;22:155-64.

2. Dorman TA, Kensey K, Cho Y. Benefits of reducing whole blood viscosity for patients with angina and dementia symptoms. Alternative Therapies 2008;14(2):pp48-51.

3. See separate webpage on this website

4. Schut NH, van Arkel EC, Hardeman MR, Michels RP, Vrecken J. Blood plasma viscosity in diabetes: possible contribution to late organ complications? Diabetes Res 1992;19(1):pp31-5.

5. Tracy GD, Lord RSA, McGrath MA. The role of viscosity in peripheral vascular diseases. In Dintenfass L, Seaman GVF (eds.), Blood Viscosity in Heart Diseases and Cancer. Pergamon Press, 1981: pp82-87.

6. Ajmani RS, Rifkind JM. Hemorheological changes during human aging. Gerontology 198;44:111-29.

7. Hagstadius S, Risberg J. Regional cerebral blood flow characteristics and variations with age in resting normal subjects. Brain Cogn 1989;10:29-43.

8. Martin AJ, Friston KJ, Colebatch JG, et al. Decreases in regional cerebral blood flow with normal aging. Cereb Blood Flow Metab 1991;1:684-9.

9. Chien S, Usami S, Dellenback RJ, Gregerson MI. Shear-dependent interaction of plasma proteins with erythrocytes in blood rheology. American Journal of Physiology 1970; 219: p143.

10. Ajmani RS, Rifkind JM. Hemorheological changes during human aging. Gerontology 1998;44:111-29.

11. For example, Assayag EB, Bornstein N, Shapira I, Mardi T, Goldin Y, Tolshinki T, Vered Y, Zarkuth V, Burke M, Berliner S, Bonet DS. Inflammation-sensitive proteins and erythrocyte aggregation in atherothrombosis. International Journal of Cardiology 2005 15;98(2): pp 271-276.

12. Jayananth S, Singh M, Changes in erythrocyte aggregation and deformability during human ageing. Current Science 2002; 82(2):pp191-196.

13. Lominadze D and Dean WL. Involvement of fibrinogen specific binding in erythrocyte aggregation. ed B Imhof, Federation of European Biochemical Societies., 2002.

14. Leschke M. Rheology and Coronary Heart Disease (translated from “Rheologie und koronare Herzkrankheit”)., Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) (Dtsch Med Wochenschr), published in Germany, 2008-Dec, 133(8), pp S270-3.

15. Dormandy JA, Edelman JB. High blood viscosity: An aetiological factor in venous thrombosis. British Journal of Surgery 2005;60(3):pp187-190.

16. Saldanha C. Mini Review on Eryhtrocyte Aggregation: Basic Concepts and Clinical Repercussions. Boletim Hemorreologia, n2/2002, pista: bolet 2.

17. Berliner S, Zeltser D, Rotstein R, Fusman R, Shapira I. A leukocyte and erythrocyte aggregation test to reveal the presence of smoldering inflammation and risk factors for artherosclerosis. Medical Hypothesis, August 2001; 57(2), pp 207-209.

18. Scherer R, Morarescu A, Ruhenstroth-Bauer G. The significance of plasma lipoprotein on erythrocyte aggregation and sedimentation. British Journal of Haematology 1976 Feb;32(2), pp 235-41.

19. Khutchumova KG, Lyusov VA. "The Deviation of Some Hemorheological Infrared Laser Therapy." Moscow State University, Russia. Extracted and paraphrased from Rindge D, "Laser Therapy and Cardiovascular Disease". Acupuncture Today
April 2007 8(4).

20. Shval'b PG, Zakharchenko AIa, Sigaev AA, Kataev MI. Intravenous laser irradiation of the blood in occlusive vascular diseases of the extremities. Sov Med, 1990;(3):21-3.