Laser biostimulation

Two projects involving laser therapy developed in the USP Dentistry Department’s Basic Research Laboratory with FAPESP funding win prizes at international congresses

By Mônica Pileggi

Agência FAPESP – Two research projects funded by FAPESP involving laser therapy and developed at the Basic Research Lab in the Dental Department of the Universidade de São Paulo’s Dental School (FOUSP) won first and second place awards at international conferences.

The study Laser phototherapy improves cell growth of human dental pulp stem cells, by doctoral candidate Leila Soares Ferreira under the orientation of professor and laboratory coordinator Márcia Martins Marques, won first place at the third congress of the World Federation for Laser Dentistry – European Division (WFLD-ED), held on June 9-11in Rome, Italy.

According to Marques, the presentation at the event showed the first results of the study Study of the effects of phototherapy with low intensity laser on human dental pulp stem cells from deciduous teeth, funded by a FAPESP Regular Research Award.

“We were surprised, as the projects is still in its beginning—it started a year ago—and we took only partial findings. But it was very rewarding,” she said to Agência FAPESP.

“The study consists of using laser therapy on stem cells from human dental pulp with the intention of using it in tissue regeneration in the future— in either deciduous or permanent teeth,” said the researcher. The objective of the laser irradiation was to favor rapid adaptation of laboratory cultivated stem cells when implanted in an organism. 

 “There are currently two possibilities. We can still apply phototherapy to the cell culture plate, or apply it directly to the tissue when the implant is being done. Our future goal is to use the laser for tissue regeneration in patients,” said Marques. 

When outside the normal growth environment—at the time of implant, for example—the stem cells present reduced proliferation. “But when we irradiated the cells with low intensity laser under strict protocol, we were able to make them grow as fast as if they were in the best cultivation conditions,” she explained.

The procedure could benefit young people suffering from unformed tooth roots, for example. “In these cases, the dental pulp dies and the root stops forming, which can lead to loss of the tooth in four or five years. In the future, we will be able to replace this pulp with tissue formed in a laboratory with stem cells, and laser irradiation will improve the implant procedure,” she revealed.

“In August, he received a visit from Professor Shiwei Cai of the University of Texas Dental School, also thanks to FAPESP funding, who will present a lecture on ‘Tissue Regeneration in Endodontics’,” she said.

Inflammation control

The other project, entitled Effect of laser phototherapy (LPT) on prevention and treatment of chemo-induced mucositis in hamsters, took second place at the conference of the World Federation for Laser Dentistry – South American Division (WFLD-SAD), held June 3- 4, 2011 in Belo Horizonte.
 
They are the final results of the project Pre-clinical study of low power laser phototherapy (LPT) in the prevention and rehabilitation of chemo-induced mucositis in hamsters, by Talita Lopez, coordinated by Marques and which received FAPESP funding through its Scientific Initiation Scholarships.

The objective of the study was to determine the most effective protocol for laser irradiation in the control and treatment of oral mucositis, an inflammation that occurs frequently in patients submitted to oncological therapy.

In order to verify the applicability of the therapy, the researcher explains that in vivo studies were performed where mucositis was induced in hamsters. The subjects were divided into three groups to verify at which moment the irradiation would bring about the best response in the organism.

In the first group, phototherapy was applied before the oncological treatment. In the second group, the laser was used only after chemotherapy. In the last group, the animals received laser therapy both before and after the chemotherapy sessions.

“Of the three cases, we observed that the second group presented the best results, both clinically and histologically, with a lower occurrence of lesions than in the other two groups,” pointed out Marques.

The laser has a biostimulating effect that controls inflammation. “When applied to the organism, it doesn’t keep the lesion from appearing. Curiously, however, when the lesion does appear the patient feels less pain,” said the professor, whose Basic Research Laboratory works in partnership with USP’s Special Laser Dentistry Laboratory, where the therapy is applied to humans.