Evidence

Documents Pertinent to the Topic (most recent posts at bottom)

  1. American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine Consensus Report on Potential Bioeffects of Diagnostic Ultrasound
    Key point: Ultrasound experts agree that long-term effects are not known.
  2. Fetal Ultrasound: Mechanical Effects
    Key point: Acoustic threshold that could damage a fetus has not been established.
  3. Fetal Doppler: How to Keep it Safe?
    Key point: Studies are all based on pre-1992 machines when the limits were lower.
  4. Safety Assurance in Obstetrical Ultrasound
    Key point: Intensity limits were increased in 1992 with little or no subsequent research.
  5. Ultrasound is Not Unsound, But Safety is an Issue
    Key point: We do not know that modern ultrasound devices are safe.
  6. Pulse Intensity: Fetal Eye vs Eye Following Birth
    Key point: The limit for examining the eye is 12% of what is allowed for the eye of a fetus.
  7. Quantification of Risk from Fetal Exposure to Diagnostic Ultrasound
    Key Point: Fetus is more at risk from thermal than from non-thermal effects.
  8. Prenatal Exposure to Ultrasound Waves Impacts Neuronal Migration in Mice
    Key point: Ultrasound exposure caused brain abnormalities in embryonic mice.
  9. Effects of Repeated Prenatal Ultrasound Examinations on Childhood Outcome Up to 8 Years of Age: Follow-Up of a Randomised Controlled Trial
    Key point: Differences attributed to multiple late-term ultrasounds disappeared by age 8.
  10. Epidemiological Prenatal Ultrasound Studies
    Key point: No association found with malignancies, possible association with left-handedness.
  11. Prenatal Ultrasound Scanning and the Risk of Schizophrenia and other Psychoses
    Key point: No clear associations between prenatal ultrasound exposure and psychoses.
  12. Antenatal Ultrasound and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders
    Key point: Study of 755 children with and without ASD shows possible 2nd trimester link.
  13. Ultrasound is safe… right?
    Key point: Evidence of the need for improved education on obstetric ultrasound safety.
  14. Medical and Non-Medical Protection Standards for Ultrasound and Infrasound
    Key point: Reservations about the US and European standards for ultrasound exposure.
  15. Overview of Experimental Studies of Biological Effects of Medical Ultrasound Caused by Gas Body Activation and Inertial Cavitation
    Key point: Concern about cavitation in fluids and other mechanical effects of ultrasound.
  16. A Calibration Study of Therapeutic Ultrasound Units
    Key point: More than one-third of the therapeutic ultrasound machines tested were operating outside of limits. (Prenatal viewing is with diagnostic, not therapeutic, ultrasound machines)
  17. Prenatal ultrasound devices can expose fetuses to pulse intensities above the recommended limits.
    Key point: There are ultrasound devices that are not being operated within FDA limits.
  18. Effects of Shear Stress on Endothelial Cells: Possible Relevance for Ultrasound Applications
    Key point: Need for research into shear stresses
  19. Checking Out the Repair History of an Ultrasound Machine
    Key point: Quality problems in the ultrasound resale market.
  20. The Ultrasound Trader’s Seller Guide
    Key point: Some resell companies do not offer a valid warranty on ultrasounds.
  21. Radiation Overdoses Point Out Dangers of CT Scans
    Key point: Errors are possible. Hospitals and licensed technicians erred dramatically in CT scanning.
  22. Genetic Heritability and Shared Environmental Factors Among Twin Pairs With Autism
    Key point: 2011 study concludes environment during gestation or shortly after is the biggest factor.
  23. The Risk of Exposure to Diagnostic Ultrasound in Postnatal Subjects –
    Thermal Effects
    Key point: Research shows significant temperature changes in post-natal human tissue with only seconds of exposure to diagnostic ultrasound.
  24. Acceleration of Tibial Fracture-Healing by Non-Invasive, Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound
    Key point: Generation of new bone and cartilage cells in healing fractures uses 1/3 the intensity of ultrasound allowed in fetal imaging.
  25. Potential Teratogenic Effects of Ultrasound on Corticogenesis: Implications for Autism
    Key point: Neurologist details potential effects of ultrasound on fetal brain development.
  26. Above Genetics: Lessons from Cerebral Development in Autism
    Key point: How the environment and genetics combine to give rise to autism.
  27. Intramembrane Cavitation as a Unifying Mechanism for Ultrasound-Induced Bioeffects
    Key point: Ultrasound shown to cause damage to live tissue at the cellular level.
  28. Intracranial Temperature Elevation from Diagnostic Ultrasound
    Key point: Ultrasound output display can underestimate the cranial temperature increase.
  29. Trends in prenatal ultrasound use in the United States: 1995 to 2006
    Key point: Number of ultrasounds per pregnancy continues to increase.
  30. Disrupted Neural Synchronization in Toddlers with Autism
    Key point: Weak connectivity between brain hemispheres in children with autism.
  31. FDA Medical Devices Safety Alert: Fetal Keepsake Videos
    Key point: FDA alert about non-medical ultrasound videos cites possible physical effects.
  32. FDA Consumer Update: Doppler Ultrasound Heartbeat Monitors
    Key point: FDA warns consumers that non-medical use of doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors risks harming the fetus.
  33. The Risk of Exposure to Diagnostic Ultrasound in Postnatal Subjects: Thermal Effects
    Key point: Authors relate that limit not based on safety considerations.
  34. Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adolescents Born Weighing <2000 Grams
    Key point: Autism rate 5 times as high in low-birth-weight infants. Most neonatals receive postnatal head ultrasounds.
  35. Ultrasound Exposure of the Foetal Chick Brain: Effects on Learning and Memory
    Key point: Memory and learning functions impaired in chicks exposed to Doppler.
  36. Increased Neuron Number and Head Size in Autism
    Key point: Head enlargement, if any, usually develops after infancy.
  37. Neuron Number and Size in Prefrontal Cortex of Children with Autism
    Key point: Autistic males tested have many more neurons in the prefrontal cortex.
  38. High Incidence of Defective Ultrasound Transducers in Use in Routine Clinical Practice
    Key point: 40% of 676 hospital ultrasound transducers tested were malfunctioning.
  39. Ultrasound Transducer Function: Annual Testing Is Not Sufficient
    Key point: 30% of calibrated ultrasound transducers failed within a year.
  40. CDC Estimates 1 in 88 Children in United States Has Been Identified As Having An Autism Spectrum Disorder
    Key point: CDC rate of autism increase matches rate of ultrasound increase.
  41. Maternal Metabolic Conditions and Risk for Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders
    Key point: Children of obese mothers have a higher rate of autism.
  42. Maternal Obesity and Autism: Ultrasound probe may be a factor.
    Key point: Ultrasound probe could be the link in obesity and autism.
  43. Are Prenatal Ultrasound Scans Associated with the Autism Phenotype? Follow-up of a Randomised Controlled Trial
    Key point: “New” Australian study based on low-intensity ultrasound of 1989 shows no connection to autism.
  44. Proliferation of Prenatal Ultrasonography
    Key point: Increase in number of ultrasounds per pregnancy unwarranted.
  45. Is Maternal Influenza or Fever During Pregnancy Associated with Autism or Developmental Delays?
    Key point: Rise in fetal temperature doubles the rate of autism.
  46. Ultrasound and Autism: Association, Link or Coincidence?
    Key point: Review of studies shows lack of direct evidence.
  47. The ALARA Principle and Sonography
    Key point: Ultrasound expert warns of potential tragic effects of ultrasound.
  48. Autism Prevalence Time Trends, Risk Factors & Prenatal Ultrasound
    Key point: Ultrasound-induced temperature increase is a probable cause of autism.
  49. Intrauterine Effects of Ultrasound: Animal Studies
    Key point: Absence of thermal effect translates to no measurable risk.
  50. Effect of Fetal Exposure to Ultrasound on the Behavior of the Adult Mouse
    Key point: Prenatal exposure to ultrasound impaired brain function in mice.
  51. Clinical End Users Worldwide Show Poor Knowledge Regarding Safety Issues of Ultrasound During Pregnancy
    Key point: Only 27% of ultrasound operators knew where TI/MI displays were on their device.
  52. Autism After Infection, Febrile Episodes, and Antibiotic Use During Pregnancy: An Exploratory Study
    Key point: Prolonged fever during gestation tripled risk of ASD.
  53. Reassessment of Teratogenic Risk from Antenatal Ultrasound
    Key Point: Possible fetal damage from ultrasound within approved exposure range.
  54. Antipurinergic Therapy Corrects the Autism-Like Features in the Poly(IC) Mouse Model
    Key Point: Explanation of the nature of autistic brain cells leads to promising treatment.
  55. Influence of Sonographic Examination on Embryo Villi during Early Pregnancy
    Key Point: Transvaginal ultrasound damages embryos.
  56. Patches of Disorganization in the Neocortex of Children with Autism
    Key Point: Characteristic autistic brain defect formed during gestation.
  57. Changing Trends of Childhood Disability, 2001-2011
    Key Point: Neurodevelopmental disabilities increasing while physical disabilities decreasing.
  58. Prenatal Exposure to Ultrasound Affects Learning and Memory in Young Rats
    Key Point: Ultrasound Affects Learning and Memory in Young Rats
  59. Long-term Effects of Diagnostic Ultrasound during Fetal Period on Postnatal Development and Adult Behavior of Mouse.
    Key Point: High Susceptibility of Early Fetal Brain to Detrimental Changes by Ultrasound
  60. Severity of ASD Symptoms and Their Correlation with the Presence of Copy Number Variations and Exposure to First Trimester Ultrasound (2016)
    Key Point: Severity of autism symptoms correlates with 1st trimester scan.
  61. Fetal Thermal Effects of Diagnostic Ultrasound (2008)
    Key Point: Thermal Effects Apparent Before 8-fold Intensity Increase
  62. Fetal Effect of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on prepubertal rat testis.
    Key Point: Testosterone levels in rats raised significantly by exposure to ultrasound.
  63. Association of Prenatal Ultrasonography and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
    Key Point: Penetration depth of prenatal ultrasounds was greater for children with ASD.
  64. In-Vivo Effects of Diagnostic Ultrasound.
    Key Point: In 1977, FDA scientists called for more research on effects.
  65. Treatise on New Physical Mechanism of Medical Diagnostic Ultrasound (MDU) for Bio-effects from Shear Stress/Strain Resolved from Longitudinal and Extensional Waves
    Key Point: Ultrasound waves cause shear stress and strain.