Check this out. Healight will be approved! This is a study from 2019 that shows UVA light can be used internally without injury and it is effective! It is just a matter of time not IF!!
Internally Applied Ultraviolet Light as A Novel Approach for Effective and Safe Anti-Microbial Treatment
Ali Rezaie 1 Gabriela Leite 1 Jaeho Park 1 Seungyoung Kim 1 Stacy Weisman 1 Gil Y. Melmed 1 Gillian Barlow 2 Walter Morales Shreya Celly Gonzalo Parodi Siamak Sakhaie Zev Melmed Enrique Ybarra Ruchi Mathur Mark Pimentel
1 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,Los Angeles,United States
2 Cedar
Session
Oesophageal, Gastric and Duodenal Disorders III (Posters)
Conference
UEG Week 2019
Citation
United European Gastroenterology Journal Volume 7 Issue 8 (Supplement), October 2019
Text
Add to favorite
Introduction
With emergence of microbial resistance and superbugs, there is a crucial need for safe, highly effective antimicrobial treatments with broad applicability to invasive pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Ultraviolet-C light (200-280 nm) is germicidal but associated with neoplastic transformation in humans. Ultraviolet-A (UVA, 320-400 nm) phototherapy reduces (epi)dermal inflammation without significant adverse effects but has not been evaluated in internal viscera. We aimed to assess the in-vitro bactericidal efficacy and in-vivo safety of intracolonic UVA using a novel light delivery system.
Aims & Methods
Customized optical rods (D=4mm, L=40mm) were designed to homogenously side-emit UVA. A mercury vapor lamp served as light source (Asahi Max-303), and UV bandwidth/irradiance peaks were assessed (Ocean Optics; Extech). UVA intensities used in this study were less than natural sunlight. (Table 1) In-vitro tests were performed using microbial liquid cultures of various enteric pathogens. Cultures exposed to UVA at 20-min intervals were compared to unexposed control cultures and transferred to solid medium plates for CFU counts. In-vivo testing of UVA effects on normal colon were performed using BALB/cJ mice (n=10, male=5). Under anesthesia, 5 mice underwent colonic UVA exposure (2,000 µW/cm2) for 30 minutes via an optic rod introduced anally up to the splenic flexure as compared to 5 mice treated with the same technique with an unlit optic rod. Rigid endoscopy (Olympus A37027A) was used to evaluate the mucosa before and serially after UVA exposure. Endoscopic videos were blindly interpreted by two gastroenterologists with expertise in animal model endoscopies. Full thickness microscopic assessments were performed by a blinded pathologist on Swiss-roll preparations of the whole colon.
Results
Exposure to UVA was associated with a significant reduction in concentrations of various microbes, including Clostridioides difficile and Candida albicans (Table 1). The germicidal effects increased with greater time of exposure. Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not reveal any growth after 20 and 40 minutes of exposure, respectively. During in-vivo tests no perforation or fatalities were seen after light exposure. No evidence of erythema, mucosal friability or bleeding was observed during endoscopies. No chronic inflammation or dysplasia was seen on examined full-thickness colonic specimens exposed to UVA.
Conclusion
UVA light exposure exhibits significant in-vitro bactericidal effects in array of clinically important bacteria, including C. difficile. UVA is also effective against C. albicans which may prevent fungal bloom following antibacterial treatment. In this first study of intracolonic UVA application, UVA exposure is not associated with endoscopic or histologic injury. UVA therapy can potentially provide an effective and safe novel antimicrobial approach to the treatment of enteric infections and inflammation. Future studies are required to assess the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects of UVA phototherapy on internal organs.
