The Annals of Internal Medicine Definition of All Types of Photo Acupuncture and Laser Acupuncture. Gehard Lischer *Corresponding author Gehard Lischer, Department of Research Unit for Complementary and Integrative Laser Medicine, Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Graz, Austria.

Received Date : April 26, 2024 Accepted Date : April 28, 2024 Published Date : May 28, 2024 ABSTRACT A general definition of laser acupuncture and all forms of photoacupuncture recognized by the World Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy (WALT) are provided in this ed- itorial. Keywords : laser acupuncture; photo acupuncture; defini- tion; photobiomodulation. The SCI and PubMed databases contain an ever-growing amount of studies on laser acupuncture. As of October 20, 2018, there were 921 publications on this subject overall in PubMed, the most significant medical database (www. pubmed.gov). But as of right now, there isn’t a standard officially recognized definition of laser acupuncture. At the 12th International WALT (World Association for photobiomoduLation Therapy) Congress in Nice on October 5, 2018, a consensus session led by Prof. Gerhard Litscher defined and addressed the general definition of laser acupuncture (Figure 1).in the French countryside. The chairman of the meeting, all of the invited speakers, and 28 international specialists all concurred. The proposal was among other things presented by the chairman during a second consensus meeting on October 6, 2018, and it was also approved by the entire WALT executive board, which is led by professors Praveen Arany, President of WALT and Co-Chair of the Congress, and Rene-Jean Bensadoun. This is how it is defined. Initiating therapeutic effects akin to those of needle acupuncture and related therapies by photonic stimulation of acupuncture sites and locations, in addition to the advantages of PhotoBioModulation (PBM) and various forms of photoacupuncture Scientific literature [1-4] provides a thorough description of the fundamentals of laser acupuncture. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that, in healthy individuals, both laser and needle acupuncture can result in distinct brain patterns [5]. The precuneus associated with mood is activated by laser acupuncture in the primary motor cortex-related parietal cortical region is stimulated by needle acupuncture, whilst the posterior default mode network remains inactive. It is necessary to do additional research to assess the clinical significance of these results. It is also appropriate to mention that WALT guidelines on the present state of knowledge, with a focus on human treatment trials but also including data from lab investigations, will be released in the summer of 2019. Funding: This research received no external funding. Acknowledgments: The author would like to express his thanks to all invited speakers of the laser acupuncture session, especially to Volkmar Kreisel MD, Michael Weber MD, and Jasmin Stadler MD, and to all participants. Aspecial thanks is dedicated to Prof. Roberta Chow from Sydney, Australia, for her valuable help in the discussion within the laser acupuncture consensus guideline session. Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest. REFERENCES 1. Litscher, G.; Litscher, D. Scientific Aspects of Innovative Laser Medicine. In Laser Acupuncture and Innovative Laser Medicine; Bahr, F., Litscher, G., Eds.; Bahr & Fuechtenbusch: Munich, Germany, 2018; pp. 13–77. 2. Litscher, G. Laser acupuncture and heart rate variability—Scientific considerations. Medicines 2018, 5, 43. [CrossRef] [PubMed] 3. Litscher, D.; Wang, J.; Litscher, G.; Li, G.; Bosch, P.; Van den Noort, M.; Wang, L. Gender differences in laser acupuncture—Results of a crossover study with green and yellow laser at the ear point Shenmen. Medicines 2018, 5, 24. [CrossRef] [PubMed] 4. Litscher, G. Laser acupuncture research: China, Austria, Editorial 1www.directivepublications.org

The Annals of Internal Medicine and other countries—Update 2018. Medicines 2018, 5, 92. [CrossRef] [PubMed] 5. Quah-Smith, I.; Williams, M.A.; Lundeberg, T.; Suo, C.; Sachdev, P. Differential brain effects of laser and needle acupuncture at LR8 using functional MRI. Acupunct Med. 2013, 31, 282–289. [CrossRef] [PubMed] Editorial 2www.directivepublications.org