Method for treatment of depression

Patent Number: 7,309,348

The use of various types of energies to manipulate stem cells or to modulate the specific niche in which stem cells are placed is an exciting area of development.

Photothera is a San Diego based company that has been clinically developing an area called "photoceuticals" for the past several years, primarily in relation to treatment of stroke. In the current patent, the Phototherapy founders covered a way of treating depression by stimulating neurogenesis or at least release of various neurotransmitters through administering specific laser frequencies to the brain of the pateint.

Although this approach may sound futuristic, the company has already raised more than a combined $50 million from venture funds and has successfully completed a Phase I trial using a similar photo-stimulatory approach for stroke treatment which was published (Lampl et al. Infrared laser therapy for ischemic stroke: a new treatment strategy: results of the NeuroThera Effectiveness and Safety Trial-1 (NEST-1).Stroke. 2007 Jun;38(6):1843-9. Epub 2007 Apr 26).

It will be interesting to see how this type of approach can be used to synergize with exogenously administered stem cells.

View this patent on the USPTO website.