Diagnostic levels of ultrasound may disrupt myelination

Neonatal rats 3 to 5 days of age were exposed to the ultrasound beam from a medical ultrasound imaging system. Dorsal nerve roots were examined by electron microscopy. Comparison between exposed and sham-exposed controls revealed disruption of the nodes of Ranvier attributable to ultrasound. Morphologic changes ranged from vacuole formation in the paranodal region to frank demyelination and were still evident after 24 h of recovery. Rats of this age are at a stage of myelination similar to that of a human fetus 4 to 5 months. The ultrasound intensities used in this study are consistent with those used for human imaging (SPTA 0.135 mW/cm2, SATA 0.045 mW/cm2, SPTP 8.7 W/cm2, SPPA 1.9 W/cm2), but the relevance of these findings to clinical ultrasound will require further study.