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CNN's 'Vital Signs' explores the potential of medical non-invasive therapeutic technology

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Published : Jan. 20, 2023 - 20:20

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HONG KONG, Jan. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the search continues for non-invasive ways to treat neurodegenerative diseases, focused ultrasounds have become an alternative to surgery when it comes to treating essential and Parkinson's tremors. This month on CNN's 'Vital Signs', CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks to the experts working on this non-invasive therapeutic technology and explores how this technology improved the life of a patient who is suffering from familial tremors.

CNN's 'Vital Signs' explores the potential of medical non-invasive therapeutic technology
CNN's 'Vital Signs' explores the potential of medical non-invasive therapeutic technology

Although humans cannot hear ultrasound, it is a potent sound that can still have a big impact on their world. The treatment of brain disorders using focused ultrasound procedures is continually evolving. Those with tremors turning to this out-patient procedure have often seen immediate improvements. While the technology continues to undergo clinical trials around the world, its uses have expanded to include treating depression and reducing tumors.

Dr. Gupta follows the medical journey of 80-year-old Brenda Hric, who has familial tremors that have afflicted her family for generations. He visits the Focused Ultrasound Center at the University of Virginia where this version of functional neurosurgery, the targeting of precise structures deep in the brain with ultrasound, is used in the hope of stopping Brenda's tremors. CNN joins her as she becomes one of the 9,000-plus patients worldwide to undergo the procedure and finds out how it changes her life.

CNN also talks to neurosurgeon Dr. Jeff Elias, one of the pioneers in treating essential tremors using ultrasound. In 2011, he led the clinical trials that proved to be critical in gaining regulatory approval for this specific procedure in the United States. He equates the procedure in the brain to a cardiac ablation, where abnormal heart rhythms are disrupted by burning or freezing targeted muscles in the heart.

Finally, CNN hears from Dr. Neal Kassell, founder and chairman of Focused Ultrasound Foundation, an organization working to drive clinical research and advocate for the developing technology. While focused ultrasound technology is deployed globally in various stages, from clinical trials to approved regulatory use with many applications still in the nascent stages, he believes that focused ultrasound will be a mainstream therapy for millions of patients every year around the world within the next decade.

Vital Signs – Focused Ultrasound trailer: https://bit.ly/3CSLALi 
Vital Signs – Focused Ultrasound images: https://bit.ly/3GRD8x5 
Vital Signs microsite: https://cnn.it/34AHmXX 

Airtimes for 30-minute special:
Saturday, 21st January at 1:30pm HKT
Sunday, 22nd January at 7pm HKT
Monday, 23rd January at 2am and 12pm HKT

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CNN's portfolio of news and information services is available in seven different languages across all major TV, digital and mobile platforms, reaching more than 475 million households around the globe. CNN International is the number one international TV news channel according to all major media surveys across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific region, and Latin America and has a US presence that includes CNNgo. CNN Digital is a leading network for online news, mobile news and social media. CNN is at the forefront of digital innovation and continues to invest heavily in expanding its digital global footprint, with a suite of award-winning digital properties and a range of strategic content partnerships, commercialised through a strong data-driven understanding of audience behaviours. CNN has won multiple prestigious awards around the world for its journalism. Around 1,000 hours of long-form series, documentaries and specials are produced every year by CNNI's non-news programming division. CNN has 36 editorial offices and more than 1,100 affiliates worldwide through CNN Newsource. CNN International is a Warner Bros. Discovery company.