Red Light Therapy For Epilepsy: Current Science Explained

I'm a happy man! A few years ago Alex Fergus - the founder of this website - asked me to look into animal studies on red light therapy for epilepsy. Back then, there were only four available studies and one review. Now, maybe three years later, that number has doubled to eight animal studies and three reviews!

In this article I'll consider these scientific publications and also mention more about what we don't yet know. The latter domain is big in this case, unfortunately. I'll make the case that far more research into red light therapy for seizures and epilepsy are needed, simply because experimental evidence is way ahead often of what's been established in studies.

So I'll mainly focus on red light therapy for seizures and epilepsy studies below. If you're short on time, just read the summary below:

Epilepsy And Seizures Introduction

So, let's talk about the latest science regarding epilepsy and seizures. I'll focus on reviews here, which integrate previous publications on a topic.

Epilepsy And Seizures Difference

But first, the basics. Seizures and epilepsy aren't the same thing - as you can have seizures without epilepsy. Also, if you have epilepsy, the condition may be under control and not lead to seizures (even though the risk is there).

And the seizures that happen without epilepsy may occur because of a stroke, for instance, or low blood sugar, or a head trauma (3). If there's no easily identifiable reason as to why someone has seizures, then the condition is called "epilepsy" (1; 2; 3). Epilepsy also tends to be recurrent meaning that if you've got an episode, it will likely recur again in the future, without intervention (3).

Epilepsy Basics

With epilepsy, there's often excessive activity of the brain (3). There are partial epileptic attacks of the brain and generalized ones (3). Partial seizures may escalate into generalized ones, however.

Many other classification systems of epilepsy exist. Idiopathic epilepsy, where there's no identifiable brain cause, and cryptogenic epilepsy, where there's a suspected but unidentified cause, are one of these (4). The issue is, if you've got seizures, so there's an identifiable cause, these seizures often resolve after the cause is fixed–as opposed to epilepsy (5).

Epilepsy diagnosis relies on ruling out identifiable seizure causes (6). So, you'll have EEG and MRI scans for the brain to check whether there's another condition present (6). If no causes for the seizures can be found, epilepsy is diagnosed - together with the analysis of the clinical symptoms by medical professionals (8). Here's what a recent review writes about why this diagnosis matters so much:

"Misdiagnosis of non-epileptic events as epilepsy may not only defer the correct diagnosis and treatment but also poses additional risk by prescribing antiepileptic drugs unnecessarily. Moreover, missing the diagnosis of epilepsy implies risk of additional seizures and therefore possibly injuries, sudden death in people with epilepsy, or status epilepticus. Studies have shown that patient and witness accounts are unreliable in a high percentage of cases. Therefore, the core competency of doctors and medical professionals assessing [sudden attack] events is knowledge of the clinical features that help define the different [causes], thus empowering them to establish the most accurate appraisal of an event." (6).

In short, treatment and further diagnosis depend on the initial correct diagnosis–and treatment or not acting is not without consequence! There's also a high likelihood that seizures are still underreported nowadays and not always correctly diagnosed (7). Stimgme, lack of awareness, and misdiagnosis may cause that problem. For instance, seizures may be misdiagnosed as anxiety or a migraine if it's not too bad.

The Effects And Management Of Epilepsy

Most epilepsy starts in childhood or early adulthood (9). Men are slightly more often affected than women. Because of this age factor, early treatment is warranted. And once you're older, the epilepsy risk goes up again (16).

However, 90% of people don't receive treatment for epilepsy in low-income countries (10). This fact matters a lot because seizures and epilepsy raise your overall mortality risk, if it persists over time (11; 12; 13).

Scientists have found underlying mechanisms, such as in the brain signaling compounds such as GABA (responsible for relaxation) and glutamate (excitation) (14). Acetylcholine, which is concerned with inhibition, also plays a role (14). Genetics also partake in epilepsy - with some types more than others (15).

Epilepsy treatment isn't straightforward right now, however, and there are no easy answers. Nevertheless, treatment options are quickly evolving. Here's what a recent review states:

"Traditional antiseizure medications (ASMs) form the cornerstone of epilepsy treatment, but their limitations necessitate alternative approaches. [C]utting-edge therapies such as responsive neurostimulation (RNS), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS), highlighting their mechanisms of action and promising clinical outcomes. Additionally, the potential of gene therapies and optogenetics in epilepsy research is discussed, revealing groundbreaking findings that shed light on seizure mechanisms. Insights into cannabidiol (CBD) and the ketogenic diet as adjunctive therapies further broaden the spectrum of epilepsy management. Challenges in achieving seizure control with traditional therapies, including treatment resistance and individual variability, are addressed. The importance of staying updated with emerging trends in epilepsy management is emphasized, along with the hope for improved therapeutic options. Future research directions, such as combining therapies, AI applications, and non-invasive optogenetics, hold promise for personalized and effective epilepsy treatment." (17).

So, lots of options are coming in this area, all from changing diets to new technology (vagus nerve stimulators), to CBD oil, and more! Current anti-seizure medications have side effects, but, are often necessary to counteract the even worse effects of seizures and/or epilepsy (18; 19; 20). Here's what a recent review states about the risk:

"Antiseizure medications vary in their capacities to affect the brain and peripheral nerves, hormones, bone mineralization, cardiovascular risk, renal health, hepatic, hematological, and dermatological systems." (19)

Nevertheless, with the aforementioned new treatment options, the future for epilepsy looks brighter!

Sometimes, treatment is very simple, however, such as people who are prone to get seizures from visual stimuli, such as a flashing screen (21). In other cases, treatment is complex because sometimes young people may be resistant to the commonly prescribed medication (22).

Overall, there's no easy answer here! If there were, there wouldn't be so much experimentation with different health strategies for epilepsy.

I'll return to that topic in a second - as red light therapy for epilepsy is one of these experimental domains. First, let's consider a few physiological domains where specific issues have been identified in epilepsy:

Mitochondrial Dysfunction And Epilepsy: A Hidden Connection?

I've extensively talked about mitochondria in the past - the "energy factories" of your cells that produce most of the energy in your body. Perhaps not surprisingly, there's a link between those mitochondria and epilepsy - and there's even a specific case of epilepsy called "mitochondrial epilepsy" (23; 24; 25).

A whopping 35-60% of people with mitochondrial diseases have epilepsy, for instance (23). And, if you've got epilepsy from a non-mitochondrial origin, there's often still a role of mitochondria in that process (23). The muscles and brain are tissues with high levels of mitochondria, moreover, and obviously involved in both seizures and epilepsy (24).

And, as any process in the body is dependent on energy, the same is true for your nervous system cells - neurons. With energy metabolism of neurons affected, your risk for seizures and epilepsy changes.

Also, mitochondria produce so-called "oxidative stress" as a byproduct of energy production. That oxidative stress is healthy, but excess levels can be counterproductive. Oxidative stress levels are different in people with epilepsy (25; 26; 27; 28).

The good news?

Red light therapy generally has a huge effect on oxidative stress! That dynamic has been tested in many different contexts (29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34). I'll come back to that topic later. Suffice it to say that the mechanism of oxidative stress is where red light therapy for epilepsy can shine!

Next, let's move to an interrelated topic:

Seizures And Brain Inflammation

Oxidative stress and inflammation are intertwined. With more oxidative stress, your antioxidant system won't be able to handle the damage. You'll get cellular damage in turn, which then activates the immune system. That activated immune system is paired with an increase in inflammation. And, the increase in inflammation can also lead to a vicious cycle whereby inflammation creates more oxidative stress once again.

This cycle plays a significant role in many health conditions - almost all chronic lifestyle conditions have this in common - such as type II diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegeneration. Inflammation plays a role in epilepsy as well. In this case, it's inflammation of the nervous system called "neuroinflammation" (35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40).

This is somewhat of a complex dynamic. Nevertheless, studies do show that red light therapy, once again, can lower neuroinflammation in different animal studies (41; 42; 43; 44; 45). That outcome may yield promising results for epilepsy in the future.

There's also a link between neuroinflammation, epilepsy, and comorbidities such as anxiety and depression (35). Neuroinflammation may also cause epilepsy in the first place - here, researchers write:

"neuroinflammation can contribute to seizure onset and recurrence by increasing neuronal excitability. Notably, microglia and astrocytes can promote neuroinflammation and seizure susceptibility. In fact, inflammatory mediators released by glial cells might enhance neuronal excitation and cause drug resistance and seizure recurrence." (36).

Several mechanisms for increasing seizure risk exist here. Impeding the blood-brain barrier is one example here (39). The simple solution here is to lower inflammation in general - which is one of the hallmark benefits of red light therapy in the first place!

Hopefully, you've got a good basic understanding of seizures and epilepsy now. Belo,w I'll consider all available studies on red light therapy for seizures and epilepsy:

Red Light Therapy For Seizures: What We Know So Far From Animal Studies

As stated in the introduction, only 8 animal studies are available on red light therapy for epilepsy and three reviews. I'll consider these one by one, beginning with the animal studies:

Red Light Therapy For Epilepsy Animal Studies

So let's finally answer the question "is red light therapy good for epilepsy"? Here are the available animal studies analyzed one by one:

• One rat study compares 808 and 940 nm shows that it inhibited epilepsy and the states shifting towards seizures (40). The rats were kainic acid, which excites the nervous system and increases seizure risk–but that risk was thus reduced by applying the light therapy. The light was applied transcranially, so through the brain. Red light therapy worked neuroprotective as well.
• Then, an 825 nm used at 40 mW/cm2 and a total dose of 15.2 J/cm2 (41). That light was once again applied through the skull. The study also did some in vitro (Petri dish) testing at 850 nm. Here's the promising outcome of the study:

"[Red light therapy] upregulated [the connections between brain cells] in an in vitro. In addition, it was confirmed that transcranial [red light therapy] reduced synaptic degeneration, neuronal apoptosis [the death of brain cells], and neuroinflammation in an in vivo. These effects of [red light therapy] were supported by RNA sequencing results showing the relation of [red light therapy] with gene regulatory networks of neuronal functions. [B]ehavioral alterations including hypoactivity, anxiety and impaired memory were recovered along with the reduction of seizure score in [red light therapy]-treated mice." (41).

• So there are many different mechanisms through which brain health improves and epilepsy is counteracted!
• Then, a mouse study uses 830 nm light (42). Here, the abnormal growth of brain cells was normalized. Light therapy also counteracted the degeneration of nerve cells. The skin was treated at 50 mW/cm2 and the brain at 32 mW/cm2. The total dose was 36 J/cm2.
• Next up, an 808 nm study uses light on the skull in rats (43). A drug called "pentylenetetrazole" was then used to induce seizures. Fortunately, the light treatment reduced neuroinflammation in the hippocampus - which is involved in memory but is also central to seizures. Two hallmarks of brain damage called "astrogliosis" and "microgliosis" were also inhibited. A high dose at 133.3 J/cm was used also!
• Another 808 nm transcranial rat study shows reductions in seizures as well as their length (44). With a low dose of valproic acid added, an anticonvulsant, the results were good, while higher doses of that medication worked counterproductively,. A super high power output of 1,333 mW/cm2 was used. The lower medication dose of valproic acid as well as the light therapy are thus promising for countering seizures in rats
• Then, a 780 nm transcranial light therapy study in rats (45). Both seizure duration and seizure risk were reduced. The study doesn't describe other treatment parameters in great detail, however.
• More poor rats had pentylenetetrazole-induced here, but those were counteracted by 808 nm light (46). Very long seizures (status epilepticus) and mortality were even impeded, here!
• Lastly, there's one more 808 nm study (47). Medication was once again used to induce seizures. Here, neurochemical changes and changes in the neurotransmitters (brain signaling compounds) occured after the light therapy treatment.

That it! Unfortunately, there are no available human studies right now! And while the results in animal studies are very promising, replication in human studies is the best by far.

Why?

• Well, rats and mice have different brains than humans. So you may not get the same results for that reason!
• Also, rats and mice have a far thinner skull, which may also lead to different results in humans. The thicker the skull, the less light will penetrate, and vice versa.
• It may take a while until we see high-quality red light therapy for epilepsy studies, because researchers want to be extremely careful not to induce seizures.
• Human studies will also likely be expensive, unfortunately, as you'll need to test the light therapy over a long period of time and potentially fine-tune the therapy differently depending on the patient. So epilepsy may not be a case such as Alzheimer's Disease or Parkinson's where you can give more or less the same therapy for different patients.

Next up:

Red Light Therapy For Epilepsy Reviews

Let's consider what reviews write about this topic (48; 49). A third review by Prof Michael Hamblin is also available but doesn't come with a free text (50).

First up, the 2023 review states that red light therapy can offer neuroprotection and reduce seizures in general (48). The researchers state the following, in plain language, as to why red light therapy may be so important in relation to this topic:

"However, ~30% of patients are unresponsive to the drugs, while the surgery option is invasive and has a morbidity risk. Hence, there is a need for the development of an effective non-pharmacological and non-invasive treatment for this disorder, one that has few side effects. In this review, we consider the effectiveness of a potential new treatment for epilepsy, known as photobiomodulation, the use of red to near-infrared light on body tissues. Recent studies in animal models have shown that photobiomodulation reduces seizure-like activity and improves neuronal survival. Further, it has an excellent safety record, with little or no evidence of side effects, and it is non-invasive." (48)

So red light therapy is both non-pharmacological and non-invasive (so easy to apply!) (51). Light therapy inhibits the seizure-creation pattern in the brain in terms of neuronal activity, and if a seizure occurs, it keeps your brain cells living (51).

Also, the researchers claim the therapy is easy to use (51). That's true, of course, but I'm still not comfortable giving out a universal recommendation for red light therapy for epilepsy right now. Hence, as difficult as it may sound, you and I need high-quality human studies before red light therapy is recommendable to a larger population.

Then, the second review (49). This review ventures into the topic of mitochondrial dysfunction - which I've talked about earlier in relation to epilepsy (52). The researchers note that red light therapy directly counteracts mitochondrial dysfunction and boosts energy production therein (52). The benefit of neuroprotection is also once again mentioned, as well as the enhancement of neurocognitive functions affected by epilepsy (52).

So, this somewhat complex argument leads me to the next big question:

The Million Dollar Question: Can You Use Red Light Therapy For Epilepsy?

I understand people asking "Is red light therapy safe for epilepsy"? right now. Without human studies, right now, I can't answer that question. However, I can direct you to some clinical practitioners who already use red light therapy for epilepsy.

The founder and owner of this website, Alex Fergus, has interviewed Dr Randy Beck in the past. Dr Randy Beck uses red light therapy for brain conditions extensively - you can watch the interview here:

Yes, light therapy can affect the neuroplasticity of the brain. But, the issue here is that you may overstimulate certain areas. So Dr Beck recommends a QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalography) to measure the activity of different brain regions first, before using any red light therapy treatment.

In clinical practice, under the supervision of a medical professional, that treatment can then be combined with other modalities such as direct current (DC) current stimulation. Unfortunately, Dr Beck is somewhat skeptical of the consumer application of red light therapy devices, especially for severe brain conditions.

So, if you've had a stroke, or have epilepsy, or just had a traumatic brain injury, unfortunately I'm not comfortable giving out treatment recommendations until we see at least a few human studies on this topic! I hope you do read that I'm very hopeful on this topic because the animal studies are promising!

The Future Of Red Light Therapy In Epilepsy Treatment

Let's recap first. We've found that red light therapy for seizures works on many different mechansim generally associated with the therapy, such as:

• Mitochondria
• Oxidative stress
• (Neuro)-inflammation
• Neuronal health and cell survival

Next up, we'll need some pilot studies with a limited number of participants to observe the early effects. These studies aren't even always of the "Randomized Controlled Trial" (RCT) type - the Gold Standard in medicine - yet because you just want a preliminary test.

Nevertheless, these pilot studies will already show some outcomes in terms of what devices can be used, treatment frequencies, wavelengths, power output, treatment duration, and so forth! And then, there's the issue of combining red light therapy with other modalities - such as the DC current I just talked about.

Also, not everyone with seizures or epilepsy may need red light therapy! Although, on the other hand, red light therapy is an extremely cost-effective intervention so I cannot imagine why you wouldn't try it. But, based on different types of epilepsy, such as drug-resistant epilepsy or a type where mitochondrial dysfunction plays a major role, it's likely worth exploring a lot more.

The downside here is that full regulatory approval may take a while. We've seen this in the UK, for instance, with recently implementing red light therapy for oral mucositis - a side effect of cancer treatment. Implementing that strategy has taken years despite tons of great human research being available on the topic.

Mainstream medicine moves slow, which is unfortunate in this case. Hence, personally, I've got my hopes up for people self-experimenting for epilepsy with light therapy after the first human trials have emerged.

Also, as I repeat over and over again, please optimize other domains of your lifestyle and nutrition as well! There seems to be a link between the circadian rhythm and epilepsy, for instance (53; 54; 55; 56).

The circadian rhythm is the 24-7 day and night cycle in your body, that responds mainly to light entering your eyes. Check the interview below if you want more info on that topic:

I'm very far from an expert on seizures and epilepsy! But, I can already tell you that if I do some research in the medical literature about other risk factors and lifestyle changes, it definitely plays a role in the risk and the course of the disease. And yes, sometimes people just have bad luck, but a healthier lifestyle will consistently outperform poorer choices.

Conclusion: No Answer Yet For The Best Light Bulbs For Epilepsy!

So, in the end it's not what you may have expected from me. There's no brain laser therapy protocol in this article, and no answer to the question of "does blue light affect epilepsy?" and many others.

In this case, we'll simply have to wait until more research is available. Hence, I can also not recommend any device to you yet. I also cannot recommend a treatment protocol, but I can recommend searching out clinical practitioners who have lots of experience applying red light therapy for epilepsy.

For now, I also recommend using any holistic health strategies to optimize health! Because that step is super important for almost any condition.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below, I cover a few frequently asked questions regarding the topic:

This is a post by Bart Wolbers of Lighttherapyinsiders. Bart finished degrees in Physical Therapy (B), Philosophy (BA and MA), Philosophy of Science and Technology (MS - with distinction), and Clinical Health Science (MS), has had training in functional medicine, and is currently chief science writer.

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