Effects of Photobiomodulation in Asthma: An Integrative Review with a Systematic Approach and Critical Appraisal of Preclinical and Clinical Evidence

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Despite the availability of current therapies, many patients still face challenges in symptom control due to side effects or poor responsiveness to conventional medications. In this context, photobiomodulation (PBM) has gained attention as a non-invasive therapeutic alternative with potential anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. This integrative review, with a systematic approach, aimed to compile and critically evaluate existing studies on the application of PBM in asthma models, including animal research, cell culture studies, and clinical trials. Searches were conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect databases, covering publications from 2017 to 2024. After applying eligibility criteria, ten articles were included in the final analysis: seven experimental studies, two clinical trials, and one in vitro study. In general, the findings suggest that PBM is capable of reducing inflammatory mediators (such as IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and IL-17), improving respiratory functional parameters, and stimulating the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10. The risk of bias was assessed using tools specific to each type of study: SYRCLE for animal models, RoB 2 for the randomized clinical trial, and ROBINS-I for the non-randomized study. Despite variability in treatment protocols and the limited number of clinical studies, the compiled evidence indicates that PBM may be a promising adjunct in the treatment of asthma. Future studies should aim to standardize therapeutic parameters and confirm the positive results observed in preclinical models through well-designed human trials.