Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41369880›Full record

ArticlePhotochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology2026

Effects of photobiomodulation on nociceptor activity and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines after temporomandibular joint disc injury in rats.

Alex de Freitas Rodrigues, Daniel de Oliveira Martins, Luciana Corrêa, Marucia Chacur, João Gualberto C Luz

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Article in Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Alex de Freitas RodriguesDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7391-7037
Daniel de Oliveira MartinsLaboratory of Functional Neuroanatomy of Pain, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3441-1820
Luciana CorrêaGeneral Pathology Department, School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5774-0750
Marucia ChacurLaboratory of Functional Neuroanatomy of Pain, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0172-4110
João Gualberto C LuzDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil. jgcluz@usp.br.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7686-7829

Funding

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo FAPESP grant no. 2022/08212-6.
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTemporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain originates from muscular or intracapsular disorders, with the latter being represented by arthralgia. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) on nociceptor activity, proinflammatory cytokine expression, neuropeptide expression, and tissue alterations in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) discs following unilateral injury in rats.

methodsDisc injury was induced via surgical access to the TMJ under general anesthesia. Forty rats were divided into four groups (n = 10 each). Group 1: surgical injury to the articular disc with PBMT; Group 2: sham surgery with PBMT; Group 3: surgical injury to the articular disc without PBMT; and Group 4: naïve (control). Ten PBMT sessions were conducted with a GaAs laser at a wavelength of 904 nm and an energy density of 6 J/cm². TMJs were analyzed for histological and histomorphometric parameters to evaluate tissue changes and protein levels of substance P (SP), transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV-1), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test (p < 0.050 indicating a significant difference).

resultsThe results revealed increased expression of SP, TRPV-1, CGRP, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α following TMJ injury, with significantly lower levels after PBMT than in the other groups, leading to an improvement in the initial phases of tissue repair.

conclusionThese findings suggest that PBMT effectively modulates nociceptive activity and reduces proinflammatory cytokine expression, optimizing tissue regeneration and improving the treatment of TMD.

Indexed as

CytokinesLow-Level Light TherapyNociceptorsTemporomandibular Joint DiscTemporomandibular Joint DisordersAnimalsCalcitonin Gene-Related PeptideMaleRatsRats, WistarSubstance PCalcitonin Gene-Related PeptideCytokinesSubstance PCytokinesLow-level light therapyNeuropeptidesNociceptionTemporomandibular joint disorders

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.