EFFECT OF GALLIUM ARSENIDE LOW-LEVEL LASER THERAPY ON THE INFLAMMATORY PHASE OF SKIN WOUND HEALING IN RATS

Abstract

The use of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has shown promising results for the inflammatory modulation of tissue repair. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of gallium arsenide (GaAs) LLLT in skin wound healing via (1) measurement of the temperature on the surface of the skin wound; (2) white blood cell count; and (3) histopathological examination. Skin lesions were induced on the dorsum of 20 Wistar rats, after which the animals were divided into two groups: a treatment group, subjected to GaAs LLLT, and a control group. Thermography was performed daily in all of the study animals until the end of the experiment. On the fourth day after lesion induction, whole blood was collected (white blood cell count), animals were euthanized, and skin lesions were biopsied (histopathological examination). There were no differences in the number of leukocytes and in the histopathological evaluations between the groups; however, the thermography analysis indicated an increase in temperature in the treated group. The anti-inflammatory activity of GaAs LLLT was not confirmed. The increase in temperature on the surface of the skin lesions after LLLT requires further elucidation because this result could not be justified by the direct action of LLLT.