For those of you who are unaware LASER is actually an acronym standing for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The laser was invented in 1960 by American physicist Theodore H. Maiman, but it wasn’t until 1967 that Hungarian physician and surgeon Dr. Andre Mester that the laser had significant therapeutic value. The Ruby Laser was the first laser device ever constructed.
Working at the Semelweiss University in Budapest, Dr. Mester accidentally discovered that low-level ruby laser light could regrow hair in mice. During an experiment in which he was attempting to replicate a previous study that found red light could shrink tumors in mice, Mester discovered that hair grew back faster on treated mice than on the untreated mice.
Dr. Mester also discovered that red laser light could accelerate the healing process of superficial wounds in mice. Following this discovery he founded The Laser Research Center at Semelweiss University, where he worked for the remainder of his life.
Dr. Andre Mester’s son Adam Mester was reported in an article by New Scientist in 1987, some 20-years following his father’s discovery, to have been using lasers to treat ‘otherwise uncurable’ ulcers. “He takes patients referred by other specialists who could do no more for them,” the article reads. Of the 1300 treated so far, he has achieved complete healing in 80 percent and partial healing in 15 percent.” These are people who went to their doctor and were unable to be helped. All of a sudden they pay a visit to Adam Mester, and a full 80 percent of people were healed using red lasers.
Interestingly, due to lack of understanding about how lasers impart their beneficial effects, many scientists and physicians at the time had attributed it to ‘magic.’ But today, we now know it’s not magic; we know exactly how it works.
In North America, red light research didn’t begin to take hold until around the year 2000. Since then, publishing activity has grown almost exponentially, particularly in the most recent years.
