AB142. The characteristics and therapeutic applications of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound
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AB142. The characteristics and therapeutic applications of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound

Hongen Lei, Yongde Xu, Ruili Guan, Huixi Li, Wenjie Tian, Lin Wang, Zhezhu Gao, Zhongcheng Xin

Andrology Center, Peking University First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100034, China; Knuppe Molecular Urology Laboratory, Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Urology, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, Jilin 130033, China


Abstract: Ultrasound is a form of mechanical energy with its acoustic pressure wave at frequencies range from 20 to 20,000 Hz. To date, ultrasound waves are not only used in imaging medicine for diagnosis, but also are performed in physical therapy (PT) medicine for the purpose of preventing and curing disease due to its thermal and non-thermal effects, and the ultrasound frequencies used in PT are typically between 1.0 and 3.0 MHz. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) typically has an intensity at 30 mW/cm, pulse ratio 1:4 at 1,000 Hz, and frequency at 1.5 MHz, which has been demonstrated to have lots of beneficial effects in promoting bone-fracture healing, accelerating soft-tissue healing, inhibiting inflammatory responses and so on. The underlying mechanisms of biological effects of therapeutic ultrasound in PT medicine may be associated with the upregulation of cell proliferation through activation of integrin receptors and Rho/ROCK/Src/ERK signaling pathway, and with promoting multilineage differentiation of mesenchyme stem/progenitor cell lines through ROCK-Cot/Tpl2-MEK-ERK signaling pathway. However, it still needs an intense effort for basic-science and clinical investigators to explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms and biomedical applications of LIPUS on human body in the future.

Keywords: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS); therapeutic ultrasound; ultrasound treatment

doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2223-4683.2014.s142

Cite this article as: Lei H, Xu Y, Guan R, Li H, Tian W, Wang L, Gao Z, Xin Z. The characteristics and therapeutic applications of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound. Transl Androl Urol 2014;3(S1):AB142. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2223-4683.2014.s142

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