Focused ultrasound therapy effective for vulvar dystrophy

Focused ultrasound therapy appears to be an effective treatment for vulvar dystrophy, including squamous hyperplasia and lichen sclerosis, according to a report in the November issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

“As a local therapy, focused ultrasound is noninvasive and nonionizing,” senior author Dr. Zhibiao Wang, from the Institute of Ultrasound Engineering in Medicine in Chongqing, China, and colleagues note. “It could be precisely targeted to the tissue of interest, without damaging the overlying tissue.”The new findings are based on a study of 45 patients with squamous hyperplasia and 31 with lichen sclerosis who were treated with focused ultrasound therapy between 1999 and 2002.A few months after the procedure, treated skin areas resumed a normal appearance. At 2-year follow-up, the total response rate was 94.7%, the investigators note. Overall, 49 patients were cured with ultrasound therapy, including 32 with squamous hyperplasia and 17 with lichen sclerosis. In addition, 23 patients experienced an improvement in their condition and just 4 had persistent disease. Expression of CD34 and myelin basic protein at the treated regions correlated with the clinical response. The authors characterize the present findings as “very encouraging”, but admit that further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term effects of focused ultrasound therapy.(Source: Obstet Gynecol 2004;104:915-921: Reuters Health: October 2004.)