Background and Objective: The effect of photobiomodulation on delayed onset muscle soreness remains unknown. This study represents the first investigation of this treatment using an animal model. Methods: Seventy-two Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: sedentary control group, exercise control group and three exercise-plus-laser groups. Downhill running was used to induce muscle injury in the gastrocnemius muscle. He-Ne laser irradiations were administered to the injured muscles immediately and at 18 and 42 h after exercise in the three exercise-plus-laser groups at 12, 28, and 43 J/cm ² , respectively. Histological examination and serum creatine kinase (CK), muscle superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) analyses were done at 24 and 48 h after exercise. Results: The exercise control group exhibited a marked inflammation in the gastrocnemius muscle and significant elevations in serum CK activity and muscle MDA level after downhill running. He-Ne laser irradiation at 43 J/cm ² inhibited muscle inflammation, significantly enhanced muscle SOD activity and significantly reduced serum CK activity and muscle MDA level at both 24 and 48 h after exercise, whereas the irradiation at 12 or 28 J/cm ² slightly inhibited muscle inflammation and significantly reduced serum CK activity at 48 h after exercise only (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Low-level He-Ne laser therapy could exert therapeutic effects on eccentric exercise-induced rat muscle injury through enhancing muscle anti-oxidative capacity and reducing the inflammatory reaction. The photobiomodulation was dose-dependent, and the 43 J/cm ² dose was the most efficient among the doses used.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the major neurodegenerative diseases and the most common form of dementia. Characterized by the loss of learning, memory, problem-solving, language, and other thinking abilities, AD exerts a detrimental effect on both patients’ and families’ quality of life. Although there have been significant advances in understanding the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis and progression of AD, there is no cure for AD. The failure of numerous molecular targeted pharmacologic clinical trials leads to an emerging research shift toward non-invasive therapies, especially multiple targeted non-invasive treatments. In this paper, we reviewed the advances of the most widely studied non-invasive therapies, including photobiomodulation (PBM), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and exercise therapy. Firstly, we reviewed the pathological changes of AD and the challenges for AD studies. We then introduced these non-invasive therapies and discussed the factors that may affect the effects of these therapies. Additionally, we review the effects of these therapies and the possible mechanisms underlying these effects. Finally, we summarized the challenges of the non-invasive treatments in future AD studies and clinical applications. We concluded that it would be critical to understand the exact underlying mechanisms and find the optimal treatment parameters to improve the translational value of these non-invasive therapies. Moreover, the combined use of non-invasive treatments is also a promising research direction for future studies and sheds light on the future treatment or prevention of AD.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that exercise is a simple and effective method for maintaining brain function.Aims: This review evaluates the effects of five physical exercises, including aerobic training (AT), high-intensity interval training (HIIT), combined training (CT), resistance training (RT), and AT+RT, on the serum level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in healthy and non-healthy populations.Methods: We searched CNKI, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Medline, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases to review randomized controlled studies on exercise interventions for BDNF. Quantitative merging analysis of the resulting data using Bayesian network meta-analysis.Results: The screening and exclusion of the searched literature resulted in the inclusion of 39 randomized controlled trials containing 5 exercise interventions with a total of 2031 subjects. The AT, RT, AT+RT, HIIT, and CT groups (intervention groups) and the CG group (conventional control group) were assigned to 451, 236, 102, 84, 293, and 865 subjects, respectively. The Bayesian network meta-analysis ranked the effect of exercise on BDNF level improvement in healthy and non-healthy subjects as follows: RT > HIIT > CT > AT+RT > AT > CG. Better outcomes were observed in all five intervention groups than in the CG group, with RT having the most significant effect [MD = 3.11 (0.33, 5.76),p< 0.05].Conclusions: RT at moderate intensity is recommended for children and older adults in the case of exercise tolerance and is effective in maintaining or modulating BDNF levels for promoting brain health.Systematic Review Registration: https://inplasy.com, INPLASY202250164.