2- ORIGINAL ARTICLE MODELS, BIOLOGICAL Low-level laser therapy modulates musculoskeletal loss in a skin burn model in rats1

and intellectual content of the study, manuscript writing. IIIPhD, Associate Professor, Bioscience Department, UNIFESP, Santos-SP, Brazil. Scientific and intellectual content of the study, manuscript writing. IVUndergraduate student, School of Medicine, UNIFESP, Santos-SP, Brazil. Acquisition and analysis of data. VMaster, Postgraduate Program in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, UNIFESP, Santos-SP, Brazil. Acquisition and analysis of data. VIFellow PhD degree, Postgraduate Program in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, UNIFESP, Santos-SP, Brazil. Acquisition and analysis of data. VIIPhD, Associate Professor, Department of Human Movement Sciences, UNIFESP, Santos-SP, Brazil. Scientific, intellectual, conception and design of the study, final approval of the version to be published. PURPOSE: To investigate the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on gastrocnemius muscle morphology and Myod imunoexpression in a model of dorsal burn in rats. METHODS: Sixteen male Wistar rats were distributed into two groups: control group (CG): rats submitted to scald burn injury without treatment and laser treated group (LG): rats submitted to scald burn injury and treated with laser therapy. Fourteen days post-surgery, gastrocnemius muscle was evaluated being the specimens stained with HE and morphometric data was evaluated. MyoD expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The results showed that laser treated animals presented more organized tissue morphology compared to the non-treate