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01 / 05
Parkinson’s Tremors Disappear with Use of Ultrasound Machine

South Florida Sun Sentinel | Health Systems

Parkinson’s Tremors Disappear with Use of Ultrasound Machine

“Delray Medical Center cut the ribbon on its newest high-tech machine last week that targets brain areas to treat movement disorders such as essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease.

The machine can stop the involuntary trembling of the heat and hands experienced by people with neurological disorders in one treatment using focused ultrasound guided by MRI.

Neurosurgeons at Delray Medical Center already have been treating patients with uncontrollable tremors or stiffness with the earlier version of the machine developed by Insightec. During treatment, ultrasound waves enter a patient’s skull to precisely heat and destroy specific regions deep inside the brain that generate tremors.

Typically, the tremor is gone immediately and the patients go home the same day with minimal complications, said Dr. Lloyd Zucker, chief of neurosurgery at Delray Medical Center. Neurosurgeons at Delray began using the original machine 10 years ago as an alternative to surgery.

A video shown at the Thursday ribbon-cutting for the new, modernized machine highlighted a patient with Parkinson’s Disease whose hand went from shaking to still in a matter of minutes. As the patient readied to go home, he teared up seeing the difference.”

From The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

CNN | Accidents, Injuries & Poisonings

Shark Attacks Declined Sharply in 2024

“Unprovoked attacks by sharks declined sharply in 2024, with 47 incidents logged worldwide, down 22 from the previous year and significantly below a 10-year average of 70, according to new figures released Tuesday.

The United States experienced the highest number of unprovoked attacks by sharks, with 28 reported incidents, including one fatal attack by an unknown shark species off the northwest coast of Oahu, Hawaii. That US total, however, was almost a third lower than in 2023.”

From CNN.

Nature | Health & Medical Care

Dozens of Promising New Obesity Drugs Are Coming

“Semaglutide and tirzepatide are often lumped together under the umbrella of GLP-1 drugs, but they differ in one key regard: tirzepatide mimics not only GLP-1 but also a complementary hormone called gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP). This hormone further revs up energy metabolism and affects how the body stores and burns nutrients. Tirzepatide’s dual action is thought to contribute to its superior weight-loss results.

In a large head-to-head trial, sponsored by tirzepatide’s maker Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana, participants who took tirzepatide lost an average of 20% of their body weight, outpacing the 14% reduction achieved with semaglutide…

Inspired by tirzepatide’s success, many companies are advancing other drugs that engage GLP-1 and GIP receptors. At least five tirzepatide-like therapies are progressing through clinical trials, with the first expected to hit the market by 2028.”

From Nature.

Scientific American | Health & Medical Care

First Person with Eye and Face Transplant Is Recovering Well

“In June of 2021 Aaron James, then 44 years old, experienced a terrible accident while working as an electrical lineman. The military veteran and Arkansas resident lost much of the left side of his face—including his left eye—to severely disfiguring electrical burns that also destroyed his left arm.

Two years later James received the first-ever partial-face and whole-eye transplant, performed by surgeons at NYU Langone Health in New York City. More than a year after that James had made a strong recovery with no evidence of tissue rejection, as reported by his medical team in a paper published last September in JAMA. He still lacks any vision in the transplanted eye, but the eye itself has maintained its shape and blood flow—and there is evidence of electrical activity in the retina in response to light.”

From Scientific American.