[Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound versus low-energy shock wave in the treatment of neurogenic penile erectile...

To investigate the effect and safety of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) versus low-energy shock wave (LESW) in the treatment of neurogenic penile ED in male SD rats.

Twenty-four 12-week-old male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups of an equal number: sham operation, bilateral cavernous nerves injury (BCNI), LIPUS (300 mW /cm2, 3 times a week for 2 weeks), and LESW (300 strokes once, 3 times a week for 2 weeks). At 28 days after intervention, the erectile function of the rats was assessed by comparing the ratio of maximum intracavernous pressure to mean arterial pressure (ICPmax/MAP), and the histopathological changes in the corpus cavernosum of the penis were observed by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence staining, and Masson trichromatic staining.

After treatment, the LIPUS and LESW groups, compared with the BCNI group, showed significantly increased ICPmax/MAP ratio (0.56 ± 0.13 and 0.55 ± 0.10 versus 0.35 ± 0.14, P = 0.017 and P = 0.013), improved smooth muscle/collagen value (0.08 ± 0.01 and 0.08 ± 0.02 versus 0.06 ± 0.02, P = 0.017 and P = 0.019), and elevated proportion of smooth muscle to cavernosum (0.20 ± 0.05 and 0.21 ± 0.03 versus 0.15 ± 0.02, P = 0.046 and P = 0.020), with no statistically significant difference between the LIPUS and LESW groups. No obvious adverse reactions were observed in the LIPUS or LESW group.

Both LIPUS and LESW can effectively improve penile erectile function and repair histopathological injury in the animal model of neurogenic ED.