Transcranial low-intensity ultrasound stimulation for treating central nervous system disorders: A promising therapeutic application

Yun-Yun Hu; Gang Yang; Xue-Song Liang; Xuan-Si Ding; De-En Xu; Zhe Li; Quan-Hong Ma; Rui Chen; Yan-Yun Sun

doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1117188

Transcranial low-intensity ultrasound stimulation for treating central nervous system disorders: A promising therapeutic application

Front Neurol. 2023 Mar 8:14:1117188. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1117188. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yun-Yun Hu^{1

2}, Gang Yang³, Xue-Song Liang^{1

2

4}, Xuan-Si Ding^{1

2}, De-En Xu⁵, Zhe Li^{1

6}, Quan-Hong Ma^{1

2}, Rui Chen¹, Yan-Yun Sun^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology and Clinical Research Center of Neurological Disease, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
² Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
³ Lab Center, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
⁴ Second Clinical College, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning, China.
⁵ Wuxi No. 2 People's Hospital, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
⁶ Sleep Medicine Center, Suzhou Guangji Hospital, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.

Abstract

Transcranial ultrasound stimulation is a neurostimulation technique that has gradually attracted the attention of researchers, especially as a potential therapy for neurological disorders, because of its high spatial resolution, its good penetration depth, and its non-invasiveness. Ultrasound can be categorized as high-intensity and low-intensity based on the intensity of its acoustic wave. High-intensity ultrasound can be used for thermal ablation by taking advantage of its high-energy characteristics. Low-intensity ultrasound, which produces low energy, can be used as a means to regulate the nervous system. The present review describes the current status of research on low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (LITUS) in the treatment of neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, essential tremor, depression, Parkinson's disease (PD), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). This review summarizes preclinical and clinical studies using LITUS to treat the aforementioned neurological disorders and discusses their underlying mechanisms.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Parkinson's disease; central nervous system diseases; depression; epilepsy; low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation; neuromodulation.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (92049120, 81870897, 81770085, 82070095, and 81901296), the Guangdong Key Project in the Development of New Tools for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Autism (2018B030335001), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20181436), the National Major Scientific and Technological Special Project for Significant New Drugs Development (2019ZX09301102), the Discipline Construction Program of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (XKTJ-TD202003), STI2030-Major Projects (2021ZD0204001), and Sino German cooperation and exchange project (M-0679).