This past Saturday, SYMBYX was featured in The Express UK;
Shining Light Therapy of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson’s (PD) is the world’s fastest growing neurodegenerative disease and second only to Alzheimer’s in scale. in the UK some 175,000 people have a confirmed PD diagnosis with far more undiagnosed because traditional motor symptoms (such as tremor and shuffling) don’t show for 10 to 20 years.
Diagnosis is still largely centred on motor symptoms with care based on Levodopa medication. “Levodopa remains standard care but is inadequate on its own,” says Dr Wayne Markman, CEO of med-tech company sYMBYX Biome, which is developing laser light treatment.
“Levodopa has not evolved much over the past 60 years and mainly addresses motor symptoms.We know roughly 50 % of PD symptoms are non-motor
and several early symptoms such as constipation, loss of smell and sleep disturbances often show decades before motor deficit.”
“There is growing evidence, particularly in animals, that the vagus nerve is a route along which certain metabolites – substances made from the breakdown of food – influence the brain,” says Dr Markman.
“We know that the most prevalent form of PD is idiopathic – without a known cause. it is likely to be more a metabolic than neurodegenerative condition.
“This means it almost certainly starts in the gut, from over-exposure to toxins throughout people’s lives, as well as from the ageing process.”
Supporting this theory is the ongoing 20-year Us Modifiable Variables in PD study of nearly 3,000 volunteers.The study is showing that certain variables, including toxin exposure, diet and supplements, exercise, financial security and loneliness, are linked to symptom severity and progression.
There is also compelling evidence showing that targeted, controlled laser light therapy is effective in reducing symptoms. SYMBYX Biome’s mission is to reduce chronic conditions of PD in particular, using red light therapy and infrared light therapy via medical lasers.
Rather than this being a major medical treatment involving hospitals or clinics, the company has developed hand-held light laser therapy devices that can be used at home.
High levels of certain gut bacteria are known to cause inflammation and leakage, misfolding of certain proteins found in the nervous system and the eventual destruction of healthy brain tissue, including neurons.
it is these neurons that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter required for healthy cognition and movement.
SYMBYX light therapy works to lower inflammation, repair gut lining and increase dopamine signalling, so helping reduce PD symptoms.
The light therapy for Parkinson's device, the PDCare, is a battery-powered, hand- held, super-pulsed, medical-grade laser using infrared light and is held against the skin across the abdomen or gut area.
Trials show that when shone on the gut for 18 minutes, followed by two minutes on the neck, three days a week, it can reduce both motor and non-motor symptoms.Three years of a clinical trial in Australia has shown PDCare to slow disease progression. non-pharmaceutical and painless, the therapy is approved for patient use in the Uk and EU.
