ECMUS Safety Committee Report - Can Antenatal Exposure to Ultrasound Affect Neuronal Migration in Mice?

Gail ter Haar

In view of its potential implications for the safe use of ultrasound in obstetrics, the EFSUMB safety committee (ECMUS) has taken a close look at a paper published by Ang and colleagues (Ang E, Gluncic V, Duque A, Schafer M, Rakic P. Prenatal exposure to ultrasound waves impacts neuronal migration in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 2006), and have produced the following critique:

This study indicates that exposure of the embryonic mouse to ultrasound for 30 minutes or longer can affect neuronal migration in the cerebral cortex and thereby prevent some neurons from attaining their final proper position.

References

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