Reversible biochemical changes in the developing rat central nervous system following ultrasound exposure.

Rat embryos in utero at 10 days of gestation (gd) were exposed to the intensity of 2.5 W/cm2 (SATA) of 1 MHz continuous-wave ultrasound for 5 min. The right uterine horn was exteriorized, exposed to the ultrasound beam, and then reinserted into the abdominal cavity. Embryos from the unexposed left uterine horn served as controls. The cerebral hemispheres of each fetus were removed and analyzed for enzymatic activity at four different stages of development. There was an increase in the temperature at the surface of the intact uterus during the ultrasound exposure. No gross anatomical malformations were observed in the exposed embryos. There were no differences in brain weight or protein content between exposed and control fetuses. However, the ultrasound exposure caused a transient decrease in acetylcholine esterase and 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide phosphohydrolase activities of the insonated fetal brains compared to the control brains. Because of the relatively high temporal-average intensity, the relatively large volume of tissue exposed, and the minimal sound path through tissue, the biochemical changes observed in this experiment would be unlikely to occur in clinical examinations.