Wausau, WI (October 15, 2025) – Sepsis remains one of the leading causes of mortality in hospitalized patients worldwide, and innovative therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. A group of Brazilian researchers developed and tested a vascular photobiomodulation protocol (iLIB technique) specifically tailored for patients with sepsis, guided by existing evidence in literature.
The study, led by Adriano Correia de Sousa and Ana Laura Martins de Andrade, is titled, “A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of Vascular Photobiomodulation in Hospitalized Patients with Sepsis.” The clinical report, published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (LSM), the official journal of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Inc. (ASLMS), was selected as the November 2025 Editor’s Choice.
This randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluated the effects of vascular photobiomodulation (660 nm red laser applied to the radial artery) in 30 hospitalized patients with sepsis. The treatment group showed significant improvements in key clinical and metabolic biomarkers from the third day of therapy, suggesting that this technique may represent a promising adjunctive approach for managing sepsis.
“This work is important because it is among the first randomized controlled trials to evaluate a broad range of clinical and laboratory biomarkers in this population,” the authors said. “By demonstrating significant improvements in key parameters such as white blood cells, lactate, and renal function markers, our findings provide mechanistic insights and clinical evidence that support vascular photobiomodulation as a promising adjunct therapy for critically ill patients with sepsis.”
Adriano Correia de Sousa holds a degree in Physiotherapy and a postgraduate specialization in Intensive Care from the Centro Universitário de Ciências e Tecnologia do Maranhão (UNIFACEMA). He is trained in Kinesiological Ultrasonography, earned a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering from Universidade Brasil, and is currently a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at the same institution. His research focuses on hospital-acquired conditions such as sepsis, with an emphasis on photobiomodulation and laser therapy, bridging the fields of biomedical engineering and health sciences.
Ana Laura Martins de Andrade holds a degree in Physiotherapy from the Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL), a Master’s and PhD in Physiotherapy from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), and completed her Postdoctoral training at the University of São Paulo (USP). She is a full professor at Universidade Brasil in the Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering and a faculty researcher at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. Her research focuses on tissue engineering, photobiomodulation, and the application of stem cells and biomaterials in the treatment of various health conditions and diseases.
Editor’s Choice is an exclusive article published in LSM, the official journal of ASLMS. View the complete manuscript.