Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) treatments affect degeneration of cultured articular cartilage explants

Abstract

LIPUS or PEMF prevented degenerative changes in pig knee cartilage explants. LIPUS reduced degeneration in human cartilage samples. LIPUS treatment seems to have more potency in the treatment of osteoarthritis than PEMF treatment.

The Role of Low‐Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound on Cartilage Healing in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Review

“…All of these were randomized studies. Nine studies showed significantly increased expression of type II collagen [7,16,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28], whereas one human study showed decreased expression [29].…”

“…Eight studies examined the histologic effects of LIPUS on articular cartilage via Mankin scoring [7,14,22,24,27,29,31,32]. All of these studies found significant improvements in Mankin score and therefore chondral histology with LIPUS treatment.…”

“…Nine randomized studies in animal models revealed that type II collagen displayed a significant increase in expression with the use of LIPUS [7,16,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. However, one study that evaluated type II collagen in human explants showed a decrease in type II collagen and aggrecan [29]. Several explanations, including the difference in animal and human models, should be considered.…”

“…Lower numbers indicate less cartilage damage (with a score of 0 indicating normal cartilage), whereas higher scores indicate more severe cartilage damage [36]. Eight studies displayed the effects of LIPUS on articular cartilage using Mankin scoring [7,14,22,24,27,29,31,32]. There was improvement, with a decreased Mankin score, in all 8 studies [7,14,22,24,27,29,31,32,36].…”

Clinical results of pulsed signal therapy on patellofemoral syndrome with patellar chondropathy

“…PEMF therapy has been used clinically for over 30 years, and although it has achieved interesting results in some studies, it is still not widely used for any pathology. The in vitro results of PEMF used on chondrocytes have shown increased cell viability [Anbarasan et al, 2016], decreased cellular degeneration [Tan et al, 2015], upregulation of adenosine receptors [Varani et al, 2008], changes in chondrocyte morphology [Jahns et al, 2007], and a chondroprotective effect against IL-1 and increased proteoglycan synthesis [Ongaro et al, 2011;Veronesi et al, 2015;Anbarasan et al, 2016]. The effect seems to be lost in arthritic chondrocytes [Sadoghi et al, 2013].…”