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01 / 05
Doctors Test a Revolutionary Brain-Computer Implant

Wall Street Journal | Health & Medical Care

Doctors Test a Revolutionary Brain-Computer Implant

“Jeffrey Keefer lay on an operating table in the oldest hospital in America surrounded by a surgical team, a group of engineers and a gaggle of spectators hoping to witness the early stages of a healthcare revolution.

Keefer was undergoing brain surgery to relieve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease—but since his skull would be open for around four hours anyway, he had also agreed to have an experimental device called a brain-computer interface temporarily implanted.

The unit, developed by Precision Neuroscience, sat on the surface of Keefer’s brain for 25 minutes, reading his mind.”

From Wall Street Journal.

New York Times | Noncommunicable Disease

People with Severe Diabetes Are Cured in Small Trial of New Drug

“A single infusion of a stem cell-based treatment may have cured 10 out of 12 people with the most severe form of type 1 diabetes. One year later, these 10 patients no longer need insulin. The other two patients need much lower doses.

The experimental treatment, called zimislecel and made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston, involves stem cells that scientists prodded to turn into pancreatic islet cells, which regulate blood glucose levels. The new islet cells were infused and reached the pancreas, where they took up residence.”

From New York Times.

Daily News Egypt | Noncommunicable Disease

Egypt Meets WHO Target for Hepatitis B Control

“Egypt has become the first country in the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region to meet the WHO target for hepatitis B control, a milestone achievement officially recognized during a ceremony held in Cairo on Sunday.

At the event, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar received a formal certificate from WHO, confirming Egypt’s success in achieving the benchmark for reducing hepatitis B prevalence among children and maintaining sustained vaccine coverage.

According to national surveys conducted between 2008 and 2024, hepatitis B prevalence among individuals under 60 has declined by 15% since 2015, while rates among children under ten have dropped by 50%. Notably, prevalence among children under five now stands at below 1%—the threshold established by WHO for hepatitis B control.”

From Daily News Egypt.

NPR | Communicable Disease

HIV Prevention Drug Hailed as a “Breakthrough” Gets FDA Approval

“On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved lenacapavir for the prevention of HIV. Clinical trial data from last year suggest just two injections a year provide near-complete protection against an HIV infection…

The twice-yearly injection offers a more convenient alternative to the current standard of care for HIV prevention, a daily pill called Truvada. This pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is 99% effective at preventing HIV infection in clinical trials, but some people face significant barriers in taking a daily pill. One study found oral PrEP’s was only 26% effective in certain groups, in part because of skipped doses.”

From NPR.

Our World in Data | Communicable Disease

Tuberculosis Is Now Rare in Rich Countries — Here’s How It Happened

“By the middle of the 18th century, around 1% of London’s population was dying from tuberculosis (TB) every year. You can see this in the chart below, which shows modeled estimates of TB death rates in London.

Let’s pause on that. Every year, 1 in 100 people died from TB. That means that if you lived in London, every five years, 1 in 20 people you knew might have died from it. That’s one person for every three or four households.

If London were to experience that scale of infection and death today, tuberculosis would kill around 90,000 people every year. That’s almost double the number who currently die in London from all causes — cancer, heart disease, the flu, COVID-19, dementia, road injuries, homicides, and many others.”

From Our World in Data.