Research On The Effects Of Low-Intensity Ultrasound On The Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque

Objective: To research the effects of low-intensity ultrasound on the carotid atherosclerotic plaque in rabbit and evaluate the potential usage of ultrasound as an adjunctive treatment of atherosclerosis.Method: Experimental carotid atherosclerotic plaque models were built on 30 new Zealand rabbits. And then, these animals were divided into control group (n=6) and USE group (n=24) randomly. USE group consists of 4 subgroups (group A: 0.5w/cm2, 5min/d; group B: 0.5w/cm~2, 10min/d; group C: 1.0 w/cm~2, 5 min/d; group D: 1.0 w/cm~2, 10min/d; n=6 respectively). Before and after USE, all the animals of group B and group D underwent CSEP examination. On the 20th day of the ultrasound expose procedure, all groups were killed for the research of the pathological change of the cervical atherosclerotic plaque and the intimal thickness(IH), intimal area(IA), media area(MA), internal elastic membrane (IEM)cross section area, intimal area/media area(IA/MA), and stenosis index(IA/IEM) were determined. The cell proliferation and apoptosis were researched by PCNA staining and TUNEL. Pathological and electron microscope...