NITROGEN LASER IMPROVES THE PHAGOCYTIC FUNCTION OF “LAZY” POLYMORPHONEUCLEAR LEUKOCYTES IN DIABETIC PATIENTS.

Abstract

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) from ten diabetic cases were tested for phagocytic activity by the NBT reduction test and the activity was found to be grossly reduced (p < 0.001) in comparison to PMNL from matched healthy volunteers. In vitro experiments were then carried out on PMNL from 2l diabetic subjects to find out if the phagocytic activity in terms of intracellular killing of phagocytosed challenged bacteria was improved following irradiation with low incident doses of nitrogen (N2) laser energy. It was demonstrated that N2 laser exposure for 15 minutes at an output power of 6 mW, λ = 337 nm, could accentuate the killing of internalized Staphylococcus aureus when compared to the non-irradiated control PMNL (p < 0.001). Furthermore, it was also seen that this enhanced phagocytic activity occurred without affecting the viability of the PMNL cells. Thus to conclude, N2 laser therapy accentuated the in vitro phagocytic activity in neutrophils from diabetic patients. This study may have therapeutic potential in various groups of immunocompromised patients.