Focused Ultrasound Treatment of Cervical Lymph Nodes in Rats with EAE: A Pilot Study

In this pilot study, focused ultrasound (FUS) was used to produce hyperthermia in cervical lymph nodes of rats having experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) to alleviate symptoms associated with EAE. EAE was induced in dark agouti rats, and EAE scores were recorded over 21 d. At the onset of EAE symptoms, rats were treated with FUS to induce temperatures of 43-44°C for 20 min in the superficial cervical lymph nodes. An EAE remittance score was tallied for all rats, defined as the maximum EAE score observed minus the minimum EAE score observed after the maximum EAE was reached. On average, the peak remittance score for FUS-treated rats was 1.14 ± 0.48 versus 0.33 ± 0.27 for sham-treated rats. These differences were statistically significant (p = 0.037). Therefore, FUS treatment of cervical lymph nodes in rats with EAE resulted in a significant reduction in EAE score.