Low-level laser therapy of leg ulcer in sickle cell anemia

Low-level laser therapy of leg ulcer in sickle cell anemia
Claudia Regina Bonini-Domingos1 Flavia Mariana Valente 2
Laboratory of Hemoglobin and Genetics of Hematological Diseases, Biology Department, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" – UNESP, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil 2 Physiotherapy Department, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto – FAMERP, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil
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Conflict-of-interest disclosure: The authors declare no competing financial interest Submitted: 10/24/2011 Accepted: 11/24/2011 Corresponding author: Claudia Regina Bonini-Domingos Departamento de Biologia, Laboratório de Hemoglobinas e Genética das Doenças Hematológicas, Unesp Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265 – Jd. Nazareth 15041-000 – São José do Rio Preto SP, Brazil [e-mail] www.rbhh.org or www.scielo.br/rbhh DOI: 10.5581/1516-8484.20120018

Chronic leg ulceration affects about 1% of the population at some point in their lives. Additionally, leg ulcers are one of the sequels of sickle cell disease with physiological and psychosocial consequences.(1) Treatment aims at improving the quality of life of patients and effectively healing the lesion. Adherence to treatment is not always effective, especially considering the profession of individuals with sickle cell anemia and the time required for therapy. The results of current therapeutic conduct appear to be unsatisfactory even though much has been published on a wide range of therapies.(2) Cutaneous lesions represent a dilemma and instigate clinical interest because of the high morbidity associated with changes in the normal healing process. An adequate choice of therapy and effort of the medical team can make the healing process quicker and reduce possible complications.(3) Among currently available methods, low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is an important, safe and practical tool. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that LLLT is an effective method to modulate tissue