ArticleExperimental physiology2026
Peripheral non-invasive focused ultrasound alleviates constipation by reducing gastrointestinal inflammation.
Article in Experimental physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Constipation affects approximately 20% of the US population, with diverse treatment options available due to the unclear onset and causes of the condition. Recently, focused ultrasound (FUS) has been proposed as a novel, non-invasive peripheral neuromodulatory treatment that may reduce this inflammation. We utilized a loperamide-induced constipation rat model, which is a widely used model to study constipation and potential therapeutic interventions. This study investigated the effects of FUS treatment on colonic inflammation and motility. We report that loperamide treatment did not alter colon morphology, but upregulated interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-1ra and several other cytokines. FUS treatment notably reduced the expression of IL-2, IL-4, IL-17 and other markers of inflammation. Additionally, FUS therapy also reduced the expression of chemokines, such as CXC3CL-1 and CXCL-7, and acute phase proteins, including vascular endothelial growth factor and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 in loperamide-FUS-treated rats. One week post-treatment, cytokine and chemokine profiles showed a sustained decrease of inflammation in the distal colon, with FUS treatment continuing to reduce several inflammatory mediators. These results demonstrate non-invasive FUS markedly reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and acute phase proteins in both the proximal and distal colon of loperamide-treated rats and can plausibly serve as a therapeutic for chronic constipation and other inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.