The National Cancer Institute writes that photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment that uses a drug, called a photosensitizer or photosensitizing agent, along with a particular type of light. When the photosensitizers are exposed to a specific wavelength of light, they produce a form of oxygen which kills nearby cells. In a news release on Jan. 28, 2013, the American Society for Microbiology reported, Skin, Soft Tissue Infections Succumb to Blue Light.
According to a study which was led by Michael R. Hamblin of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Harvard Medical School, blue light can selectively eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections of the skin and soft tissues, while also preserving the outermost layer of skin. This study has been published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Hamblin has said, “Blue light is a potential non-toxic, non-antibiotic approach for treating skin and soft tissue infections, especially those caused by antibiotic resistant pathogens."
Animal models were infected with P. aeruginosa in this study. All of the animals which were in the group treated with blue light survived, while all of the animals in the control, 82 percent, of the animals died. This is important because skin and soft tissue infections are the second most common bacterial infections which are encountered in clinical practice. And these infections represent the most common infection presentation, greater than 3 percent, found in patients visiting emergency departments.
