Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound decreases major amputation in patients with critical limb ischemia: 5-year follow-up study

Arterial Leg Ulcers in the Octogenarian

Arterial leg ulcers are a debilitating sequela of chronic ischemia, and their management, particularly in the octogenarian, is an immense challenge. ALUs are frequently a manifestation of end-stage peripheral arterial disease, and their presence portends a high morbidity and mortality. Management primarily relies on restoration of flow, but in the geriatric population, interventions may carry undue risk and pathologies may not be amenable. Adjunctive therapies that improve quality of life and decrease morbidity and mortality are therefore essential, and understanding their benefits and limitations is crucial in developing a multimodal treatment algorithm of care for the uniquely challenging octogenarian population.

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound for 'no-option' chronic/critical limb-threatening ischaemia in a patient with Buerger disease: a case report

Background

Buerger disease, also known as Winiwarter-Buerger disease or thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO), is a non-specific inflammation of small- and medium-sized arteries with thrombus obliteration and without atherosclerotic changes. Patients with TAO can develop chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) and are at risk of limb amputation despite smoking cessation and exercise therapy recommendations.

Case summary

A 72-year-old Japanese man presented with painful discolouration of toes and renal impairment. He was diagnosed with Rutherford classification Stage 6 CLTI with immunoglobulin A nephropathy. He refused limb amputation. Clinical symptoms reduced after treatment with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS). LIPUS is a non-invasive option to alleviate peripheral arterial disease symptoms. Despite the initiation of conventional therapy measures, there was a worsening of the limb condition. The non-invasive investigational treatment option of LIPUS was initiated after the poor clinical outcomes of the conventional therapy measures. The patient's symptoms in the bilateral lower limbs, ulcers, and the blue-coloured toes gradually lessened. After 1 year of treatment with LIPUS, he had achieved better walking independence with improved quality of life.

Discussion

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound is a non-invasive option for therapeutic angiogenesis with the potential to improve ischaemic limb conditions in patients with peripheral arterial disease and to avoid major amputation procedures.

Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Maintains Bone Mass After Withdrawal of Human Parathyroid Hormone in Ovariectomized Mice

The intermittent injection of teriparatide, a recombinant fragment of human parathyroid hormone (PTH 1-34), activates anabolic activity on bone turnover. However, the PTH administration period is limited to 2 years. Thus, sequential therapy after discontinuation of PTH is required. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been widely used for bone fracture healing. In this study, we examined the effects of LIPUS on bone mass after PTH withdrawal in ovariectomized (OVX) model mice. The LIPUS-non-irradiated femoral trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) in the treated after PTH withdrawal was significantly decreased. Meanwhile, the femoral BMD in the OVX + PTH-LIPUS group was remarkably higher than that of the OVX group. Additionally, mRNA expression of Runx2, Osterix, Col1a1, and ALP increased significantly following LIPUS irradiation after PTH withdrawal. These results suggest that LIPUS protected against femoral trabecular BMD loss and up-regulated the osteogenic factors following PTH withdrawal in OVX mice.

Research trends and perspective of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound in orthopedic rehabilitation treatment based on Web of Science: A bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Ultrasound has a long history as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), whose intensity is below 300 mW/cm2, has been widely used in orthopedic rehabilitation treatment. However, the detailed bioeffects and underlying mechanisms of LIPUS treatment need to be explored.

OBJECTIVE

To make a comprehensive view of the field, bibliometric and visualization analysis was used to reveal the global research trends of LIPUS in orthopedics and rehabilitation treatment between 1994 and 2023.

METHODS

All literature data on LIPUS were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were applied for the bibliometric and visualization analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 760 publications were included. The distribution of publications generally showed an unstable rising trend. China had the highest number of publications (28.0%), and Chong Qing Medical University was the organization with the highest number of publications (5.8%). Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology had the highest number of publications (8.8%), while BMJ-British Medical Journal had the highest impact factor among the retrieved journals. Ling Qin from the Chinese University of Hong Kong was the most active researcher. Our overlay visualization map showed that the keywords such as pain, knee osteoarthritis, apoptosis, chondrocytes, cartilage, and autophagy, which link to osteoarthritis, have becoming the new research trends and hotspots.

CONCLUSION

LIPUS is a popular and increasingly important area of orthopedic rehabilitation, and collaboration of authors from different countries should be further strengthened. Predictably, clinical application of LIPUS on chronic inflammation-related diseases and regenerative medicine, and in-depth biological mechanisms are the orientations of LIPUS in orthopedic rehabilitation treatment.