Ultrasound for diabetes
A research team from Yale Medical School, the University of California at Los Angeles and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has demonstrated a unique non-invasive ultrasound method for stimulating specific sensitive neurons in the liver. The research was led by the innovative division of GE Research, part of the global energy company General Electric.
Peripheral focused ultrasound stimulation (PFUs) technology allows you to direct ultrasound pulses to certain tissues containing nerve endings. The hepatoportal nerve plexus located in the liver gate transmits information about the level of glucose and nutrients in the blood to the brain, but its nerve structures are too small to be stimulated in isolation with implanted electrodes. A new study shows that short targeted pulses of PFUs aimed at the liver gate restrained the increase in blood glucose levels.
The treatment was successfully tested on three animal models of diabetes mellitus (mouse, rat and pig). Only three minutes of PFUs each day was enough to maintain normal blood glucose levels in diabetic animals.
Currently, the choice of drugs that normalize glucose metabolism is limited, and if clinical studies that have already begun confirm the results of preclinical trials, ultrasound can be used to restore glucose homeostasis in addition to existing treatment options for patients with diabetes mellitus.
The ultrasound instruments that were used in this study to perform PFUs on animals require the control of a qualified operator. The researchers suggest that it is possible to simplify, automate and reduce these systems so that patients can be used at home.
The effectiveness of focused ultrasound aimed at the hepatoportal nerve plexus to normalize glucose metabolism in various animals emphasizes the therapeutic significance of the brain-liver nerve pathways and may eventually become an alternative non-invasive method for the treatment of type II diabetes and other metabolic disorders. This approach requires modernization and further testing on large animals.
Article by Cotero et al. Stimulation of the hepatoportal nerve plexus with focused ultrasound restores glucose homoeostasis in diabetic mice, rats and swine is published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru .