Figure 1. Photoreceptor rescue by saffron and photobiomodulation. Images show inner and outer nuclear layer of the retina, and the extent of damage caused by light damage to a control animal (A), to a animal subjected to light damage (LD; B) and to an animal pre-treated with photobiomodulation and then subjected to LD (C). The red label, applied with the TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) technique, marks cells whose DNA is undergoing the fragmentation characteristic of apoptotic death. TUNEL-positive cells are confined to the ONL, i.e., they are the somas of photoreceptors. The number of TUNEL-positive cells is reduced by PBM pretreatment. D: Mean numbers of TUNEL-positive cells per mm of outer nuclear layer, for control, LD, SafLD, and PBMLD groups. The reductions in cell death caused by pretreatment with saffron and PBM were statistically significant.