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Effect of low-level laser therapy in the myonecrosis induced by Bothrops jararacussu snake venom
Ana Maria Barbosa1, Antonio Balbin Villaverde, Ludmila Guimarães Sousa
1Laboratory of Inflammation, Institute of Research and Development, University of Vale do Paraíba, São Jose dos Campos, SP, Brazil.
Objective:
The aim of this work was to investigate the capacity of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) alone or in combination with antivenom (AV) to reduce myonecrosis induced by Bothrops jararacussu snake venom.
Background Data:
Myonecrosis is the most pronounced local effect caused by B. jararacussu venom. AV therapy and other first-aid treatments do not reverse these local effects.
Material And Methods:
Male Swiss mice were used. Myonecrosis was induced by injection of 0.6 mg/kg of B. jararacussu venom in the right gastrocnemius muscle and was evaluated at 3 or 24 h after venom injection. The site of venom administration was irradiated for 29 s with a low power semiconductor laser (685 nm) at a dose of 4.2 J/cm(2). Intravenous AV therapy (0.5 mL dose) was administered at different times: 30 min before venom injection or 0, 1, or 3 h afterward. Both AV therapy and LLLT treatments were duplicated in mice groups killed at 3 or 24 h.
Results:
B. jararacussu venom caused a significant myonecrotic effect 3 and 24 h after venom injection. LLLT significantly reduced myonecrosis by 83.5% at 24 h (p < 0.05) but not at 3 h, and AV therapy alone was ineffective for reducing myonecrosis at 3 and 24 h.
Conclusion:
Only LLLT significantly reduced myonecrosis of the envenomed muscle, suggesting that LLLT is a potentially therapeutic approach for treating the local effects of B. jararacussu venom.
