Our murine studies suggest that exposure to blue (480nm) light, by comparison to ambient white or amber (580nm) light, reduces the inflammatory response (i.e., cytokine concentration), risk of organ failure (i.e., kidney failure), and improves the clearance and control of the infectious focus (i.e., reduced abdominal and pulmonary bacterial counts and bacterial dissemination into tissues of the liver and spleen) in mice subjected to a model of cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) or a model of pneumonia. These data directly support the proposed project and experimentation.
Exposure to blue light after a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model of sepsis reduces systemic inflammation, as evidenced by reduced serum TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations. These mice had reduced bacterial in the abdomen and reduced bacteremia. They also had reduced kidney failure after sepsis by comparison to mice subjected to ambient light. Similar data were observed in mice subjected to a model of Klebsiella pneumoniae: improved survival, reduced bacteria within the lung, reduced bacteremia and dissemination into the tissues of the liver and spleen, and reduced systemic inflammation in mice exposed to blue light.
Our data suggest that modulating the characteristics of light carries the potential to modify the host response to injury and critical illness and thus, improve outcome. The ability to modify the host response to the stress of major operations and sepsis carries immense potential to improve patient care. Importantly, the risk of light is minimal. Thus, the intervention of exposing a patient to a characteristic spectrum of light carries a very large benefit:risk ratio. The results of these studies may be directly applicable to a more generalized population of critically ill patients.
The objective of this study is to determine if perioperative exposure to blue (480nm) light, by comparison to ambient light, reduces the inflammatory response in patients undergoing 1) appendectomy for appendicitis, 2) colon resection for diverticulitis, or 3) treatment for pneumonia. We will study the following endpoints: white blood cell count, heart rate, the development of abdominal abscess, and serum cytokines concentrations.
The primary aim of this study is to determine if preoperative exposure to blue (480nm) light reduces the inflammatory response injury in patients undergoing 1) appendectomy for appendicitis, 2) colon resection for diverticulitis, or 3) treatment for pneumonia.
We hypothesize that exposure to blue (480nm) spectrum light, by comparison to ambient light, reduces the inflammatory response injury in patients undergoing 1) appendectomy for appendicitis, 2) colon resection for diverticulitis, or 3) treatment for pneumonia, by comparison to patients exposed to ambient light.
We will assess these endpoints as markers of the inflammatory response: white blood cell count, heart rate, the development of abdominal abscess, and serum cytokine concentrations.