A Promising Breakthrough Treatment for Brain Injuries:

Laser Therapy for Concussion, CTE, TBI & PTSD

BioSo just what is inside your head?Brain injuries: Concussion CTE TBI PTSDLaser Therapy - Breakthrough Treatment?- What is TLT?- How TLT works- Research Results- Upcoming Research

Agenda

Bio

Medicine, Engineering, Software

Anesthesiologist for 20 years in DC

Scalable databases & software for 20 years

Laser MD Pain Relief clinic since 2015 in LA

Leader in high-dose laser therapy

Dr. Harold Kraft, Laser MD Pain Relief

So just what is inside your head?

Conceptual Brain vs Real Brain

Divided into Lobes & Functional Areas

Thinking Cells - Neurons or Nerve Cells - Brain Power- Control Muscles

Good Vibe Cells - Glial Cells- Ensure a Good Vibe- Support Cells are Essential to the Thinking Cells

Two Types of Brain Cells

About the same as the number of stars in the Milky Way.

# Thinking Cells = 80 Billion

On average, each Thinking Cell needs one Good Vibe Cell to stay healthy.

# Good Vibe Cells = 80 Billion

Both the brain and two small feet weigh about 3 pounds

Brain is Lightweight But Power Hungry!

Brain uses 20% of total body’s energy. That’s 50 times more energy per pound than most other body parts.

Brain Consumes 20% of Total Energy

Damage can be temporary, permanent, or just “permanent until we find a cure.”

Brain Damage Can Occur When Any of the 160 Billion Cells Don’t Have Enough Energy

The Body is Designed to Supply Energy to the Brain, First and Foremost

Oxygen in the Air

Red Blood Cells

Sugar Glucose

Thinking Cells

Good Vibe Cells

Universal Cellular Energy Source: ATP

Outside the body, energy is carbs, fat, protein

Glucose

Inside the body, energy is sugar glucose

Inside the cell, energy is ATP

Everything depends on ATP: Brain, muscle, nerves, injury repair...

Body’s Powerhouse: Mitochondria Make All The ATP in the Body

Oxygen in the Air

Mitochondria inside the cell produce ATP

- Without a Good Vibe, Thinking Cells (neurons) cannot function. They will eventually die.

- The brain has 80 billion Good Vibe cells. These are actively working, and use 50% of the energy that Thinking Cells do, just to provide “support.”

- Without a Good Vibe, temporary injuries to the brain become permanent.

- Mitochondria Powerhouses supply 100% of energy needed for brain function & repair.

- Good Vibe = “Internal Milieu”, Claude Bernard 1865; aka Homeostasis.

A Good Vibe is Essential to Brain Health

Brain injuries: Concussion CTE TBI PTSD

TBI, CTE, & PTSD Causes

Overlapping Causes of TBI, CTE, PTSD

PTSDTBI

CTE

8 million Americans annually. Combat Veterans frequently have both TBI and PTSD.

TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, results from head trauma. Mild TBI is most common, with loss of consciousness 1-20 minutes. Each year, 2 million TBIs occur in the US, resulting in 275,000 hospitalizations and 52,000 deaths.

CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, results from multiple head trauma , with or without loss of consciousness. CTE is a disease of athletes with repetitive head trauma.

PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, results from physical or mental trauma. PTSD affects about

Symptom overlap: TBI, CT, & PTSD share most of their symptoms. Many of these symptoms can be traced to dysfunction of the brain’s frontal cortex.

Overlapping Symptoms of CTE, TBI, PTSD

PTSD TBI

CTE

TBI, CTE, & PTSD Symptoms

Symptom vs Disease

Depression Memory Loss

Confusion Judgment Impulse Aggression Dementia Suicide Sleepless

CTE XX XX XX XX XX XX XX X

TBI XX X X X X X X

PTSD XX X X X XX XX XX

Frontal Cortex

- Tau protein is critical in maintaining a “Good Vibe.”

- Normally, tau is not “tangled”, it is just dissolved within the neuron (Thinking Cell.)

- Tau provides axonal microtubule assembly, stabilization, and flexibility, and also involves neurite outgrowth and axonal transport.

- Tau protein deposits or tangles are abnormal and represent a “Bad Vibe.”

- Disruption of signal transmission and microtubule integrity in neurons (Thinking Cells) that are experiencing degeneration and death.

- Tau tangles are non-specific.

- Tau deposition & tangles are found in TBI, CTE, stroke, chemically induced neurotoxicity, infection (HIV virus, bacteria, etc.), brain tumors, and neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS, etc.).

- Chicken vs Egg: Tau tangles could cause the bad vibe, or they could result from the bad vibe.

- For instance, some NFL players with repeated head injuries had increased levels of tau protein in their brains but did not show CTE symptoms.

Tau - A “Good Vibe” ProteinTau Tangles - A “Bad Vibe”

& Good Vibe Cells Drive Brain Recovery

INJURY

Mild Concussion

TBI (blow to head) TBI (blast)

Initial Injury to Thinking Cells => Bad Vibe

Initial Injury to Good Vibe Cells => Bad Vibe

Repair of Injured Thinking Cells, Requires Good Vibe Cells +

Repair of Injured Good Vibe Cells, Requires

Secondary injury: Thinking Cell degeneration or death => tau tangles

Thinking Cell Recovery

TLT: Transcranial Laser Therapy

What is TLT?How TLT works

TLT ResultsUpcoming TLT Breakthrough?

What is TLT?

- TLT is Painless, Non-Invasive.

- High-powered Class 4 laser, FDA-approved for Pain Treatment. Off-label for TLT.

- Laser penetrates 1-5 cm including skull, soft tissue, brain.- “Penetrate” for a biological effect, e.g. 1+ Joule per cm2.

- TLT is localized but not pinpoint.

TLT = Transcranial Laser Therapy

“Executive Functions”

- Problem Solving

- Concentration

- Thinking

- Behavior

- Personality

- Mood

- Short-term memory

TLT Treats the Frontal Lobe

How TLT works

Transcranial Laser Therapy Increases ATP

TLT increases Mitochondrial Activity, energizing & activating the body’s natural processes: - Increased - Increased Nerve Growth Factor- Increased Vascular Growth Factor- Increased Anti-Inflammatory Chemicals- Can help restore “Good Vibe” in Thinking Cells

- Resting Action Potential

Laser Photons Absorbed by Mitochondria

TLT Activates Mitochondria to Make More

TLT Promotes Repair of Injured Brain Cells Via Increased

Repair of Injured Thinking Cells, Requires Good Vibe Cells +

Repair of Injured Good Vibe Cells, Requires

Secondary injury: Thinking Cell degeneration or death => tau tangles

Thinking Cell Recovery

TLT Results

Series of 10 patients with Traumatic Brain Injury, treated with TLT Laser, showed remarkable improvements. Used a Class 4, 15 Watt laser to deliver total 48,000 – 180,000 Joules in 10-20 sessions over 2 months.

TLT Treatment of TBI: Denver Protocol

TLT TX of PTSD & TBI: Outcomes

Positive Dose-Response Effect

TLT: Upcoming TBI, CTE

Treatment Breakthrough?

Manhattan Beach Protocol for Accelerated TLT Treatment of TBI, CTE

- Higher dose. 2-10 times higher dose.- Faster treatment. Two weeks vs two

months.- Larger coverage of frontal lobe.- Deeper penetration of frontal cortex.

- Seeking funding.- Accepting preliminary inquiries.- CTE / TBI Inquiry @

LaserMDPainRelief.com/CTE

Research Status

Sponsors, Contact

Sponsors

Real Care For Wounded Warriors Foundation LaserMDPainRelief.com

Contact

Harold Kraft, M.D.

LaserMDPainRelief.com

213-550-5600

hhk@LaserMDPainRelief.com