Mitigation of photoreceptors abnormalities after low-level laser therapy and chia seeds supplementation in experimental diabetic retinopathy

Abdel Rahman Hassan Mahmoud; Salwa Ahmed Abdelkawi; Dina Fouad Ghoneim; Aziza Ahmed Hassan; Mona Ebrahim Morsy

doi:10.4103/ojo.ojo_251_21

Mitigation of photoreceptors abnormalities after low-level laser therapy and chia seeds supplementation in experimental diabetic retinopathy

Oman J Ophthalmol. 2022 Nov 2;15(3):347-352. doi: 10.4103/ojo.ojo_251_21. eCollection 2022 Sep-Dec.

Authors

Abdel Rahman Hassan Mahmoud¹, Salwa Ahmed Abdelkawi², Dina Fouad Ghoneim¹, Aziza Ahmed Hassan¹, Mona Ebrahim Morsy¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Application of Laser, Ophthalmic Unit, National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
² Department of Vision Science, Biophysics and Laser Science Unit, Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Giza, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to assess the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and chia seeds on the mitigation of photoreceptors abnormalities in experimental diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Materials and methods: A total of 65 female Wistar rats, 5 rats were served as a control group and 60 rats were injected intraperitoneally with one dose of 55 mg/kg of streptozotocin (STZ) to induce DR after 6-8 weeks. The rats were divided into (n = 20 rats each): (a) DR group: did not receive any treatment, (b) DR+ LLLT group was exposed to 670-nm LLLT for 6 weeks (two sessions/week), and (c) DR+ LLLT+ chia seed group, in which rats were exposed to LLLT and administrated with 250 mg/kg/day of chia seeds flour for 2 weeks before STZ injection and continued to the end of the experiment. Blood glucose (BG) levels and retinal histological examination were employed after 1, 2, 4, and 6 weeks.

Results: The BG level in the DR group and the treated groups were significantly higher (P < 0.001) than in the control group after the four-time periods. Chia seeds group exhibited BG levels less than the DR and the DR+ LLLT groups after 6 weeks (P < 0.01). LLLT improved the degeneration of the photoreceptors after 6 weeks of treatment, while LLLT+ chia seeds supplementation showed early photoreceptors improvement after 2 weeks.

Conclusion: The early improvement in the photoreceptors after LLLT+ chia seed may be attributed to the potent antioxidant properties of chia seeds. Therefore, the combination between LLLT and chia seeds should be employed to protect the retinal photoreceptors against DR.

Keywords: Chia seeds; diabetic retinopathy; histological examination; low-level laser therapy.