Red‑Light Therapy Study Finds No Seasonal Brain Inflammation Rise in College Football Players

A University of Utah team reports in the Journal of Neurotrauma that near‑infrared red‑light therapy appeared to prevent the seasonal rise in brain inflammation typically seen in contact‑sport athletes, in a small study of 26 current football players. Athletes self‑administered either active or sham treatment with a light‑emitting headset and intranasal device three times a week for 20 minutes over a 16‑week season, then underwent MRI scans before and after. Players in the placebo group showed significantly increased MRI markers of brain inflammation by season’s end, while those receiving active red‑light therapy showed no increase. Researchers hypothesize that specific wavelengths penetrate the skull and reduce inflammation‑triggering molecules, potentially slowing pathways that can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy and dementia in people with repeated head impacts. The authors stress the sample was small and uneven, and say larger randomized clinical trials are essential before the approach could be recommended more broadly to athletes, veterans or first responders.