National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) now provides high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment for essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease, it said in a news conference yesterday.
The ultrasound treatment is performed without general anesthesia or needle guidance, leaves no implants and takes only three hours to complete, said Chen Shih-chieh (陳世杰), director of the hospital’s medical imaging department.
The non-invasive treatment utilizes a transducer helmet to emit 1,024 beams of ultrasound waves to cauterize a few millimeters of neural circuitry that causes tremors, said Wu Ruey-meei (吳瑞美), director of the hospital’s Parkinson’s and movement disorders center.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
About 20 percent of patients might experience side effects such as vertigo and nausea for one to three months, she said.
However, a single procedure remains 60 to 70 percent effective four years after treatments, she said.
In Taiwan, focused ultrasound therapy is approved for use only in the treatment of essential tremor or Parkinson’s disease that manifests primarily in tremors, she said.
The hospital’s HIFU machine — one of 36 such machines in Asia — was first used last month to treat a 54-year-old man with Parkinson’s disease surnamed Yeh (葉), she said.
The patient had severe tremors in the hands that prevented him from buttoning his garments before the treatment reduced the symptoms by 90 percent to restore normal functions, she said.
The therapy is performed on one side of the patient at a time to avoid potential negative effects on cognition and speech, she said, adding that the procedure is not suitable for people with osteoporosis.
Drug therapy is the most common treatment for Parkinson’s, but its medical effects are limited, while electrical stimulation therapy requires intrusive implants of wires and batteries, the latter of which must be replaced after three to four years, hospital vice superintendent Kao Jia-horng (高嘉宏) said.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS