Red Light Therapy in Liver Disease of Dogs and Cats……. Does it Work?

The term “Liver Disease” encompasses a variety of conditions in dogs and cats. Feline Hepatic Lipidosis , Hepatic Vaculopathy in dogs, End Stage Liver in dogs and cats are but a few of the diagnoses that are made in the veterinary world. However many liver diseases in dogs and cats go without a firm diagnoses. Moderate to severe disease is often accompanied by symptoms such as loss of appetite, lethargy, vomiting and weight loss. The most reliable means of diagnosing a specific liver illness is by ultrasound guided biopsy. Anesthesia is usually required to perform this procedure and in a patient that is ill and may have a secondary clotting problem, there is risk involved. As a result, many dogs and cats with hepatic disease, receive treatment based on a presumed diagnosis as many owners are not comfortable with the risk. Although a multitude of medications are available to treat liver disease, nearly all are supportive and do not attack the disease itself. All hepatic diseases share a single common element; inflammation. Photobiomodulation aka Laser Therapy or Red Light Therapy is a treatment modality that regardless of the cause of disease, can be used to treat the resultant inflammation. Thus in liver disease of nearly any cause (neoplasia perhaps being the one exception) integrating Photobiomodulation into the treatment protocol can be of significant benefit in mitigating the disease. As PBM or Red Light Therapy can reduce inflammation, accelerate healing and even increase endorphins thus improve appetite, it should be considered in nearly any hepatic disease condition. To clarify, this is not a replacement for more conventional therapy, but rather an addition to in taking an integrative approach. To date, we have treated several dogs and cats using PBM in addition to mainstream therapies (fluids, supportive care, anti oxidants, appetite stimulants) and have found it to be of significant benefit in speeding recovery and slowing progression of the disease.