Home Diseases and Conditions Neuropathy

Neuropathy

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Development Stage

Early Stage

Focused ultrasound research is in the laboratory phase and is not yet available for patients.

Clinical Trials

Focused ultrasound for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

International Approval

Focused ultrasound is approved to treat this condition outside the US. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating international sites.

FDA Approved

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved focus ultrasound for this condition. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating sites.

Early Stage

Clinical Trials

International

FDA Approved

Focused ultrasound for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with neuropathy. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on therapeutic targets without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces several therapeutic effects that are being evaluated. One mechanism is neuromodulation, which alters the activity from nervous tissue. A second mechanism is vasomodulation, which alters the flow of blood to the region. Both of these can be increased or decreased by the way in which focused ultrasound is administered. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Advantages
The primary options for treatment of neuropathy are limited, and mostly include medication.

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide an alternative to medications, which may be more effective and have less risk of side effects and lower cost. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

There is a clinical trial in Egypt using focused ultrasound to treat patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Foundation updates these pages regularly, but with the increasing number of clinical trials, we want to be sure that our audience has the latest information available. Therefore, we also added the website search information for the above trials. If you click here, it will take you to the latest information available from https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. 

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for neuropathy is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Hoffman BU, Baba Y, Lee SA, Tong CK, Konofagou EE, Lumpkin EA. Focused ultrasound excites action potentials in mammalian peripheral neurons in part through the mechanically gated ion channel PIEZO2. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 May 24;119(21):e2115821119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2115821119. Epub 2022 May 17.

Liss A, Hellman A, Patel VJ, Maietta T, Byraju K, Trowbridge R, Acheta J, Panse D, Srikanthan A, Neubauer P, Burdette C, Ghoshal G, Williams E, Qian J, Pilitsis JG. Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound Increases Duration of Anti-Nociceptive Responses in Female Common Peroneal Nerve Injury Rats. Neuromodulation. 2021 Sep 2. doi: 10.1111/ner.13531.

Kim MG, Kamimura HAS, Konofagou EE. Neurogenic Flare Response following Image-Guided Focused Ultrasound in the Mouse Peripheral Nervous System in Vivo. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2021 Jun 24:S0301-5629(21)00211-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2021.04.030.

Click here for additional references from PubMed.