of Congress in Washington.
I’m Brie Jackson for KPRC.
2 news.
>> Bree, thank you. Well, as
Friday, that means it’s time
for our health reporter Haley
Hernandez to join us with what happened this week in health
happened this week in health
news. What you got? Good
morning. They already knew I
was We you know, I like to come
in and say that I’m coming to
share my favorite story of the
week with you. And this week, Houston Physicians Hospital in
Houston Physicians Hospital in
Webster. They showed me
something really.
>> I mean, it’s earth
shattering its so cool. And I
know that you guys are probably
like, yeah, she said that it is good to be a health reporter in
good to be a health reporter in
Houston. We’ve got some really
cool things happening right in.
So at Houston, Physicians
Hospital in Webster, they are using MRI guided ultrasound
using MRI guided ultrasound
to treat trimmers. And really,
I can say they can cure it.
I mean, it hasn’t been around
that long to say that this is a
permanent forever thing.
But I mean, temporarily, your tremor is cured, essential
tremor is cured, essential
tremors. I’m just like
Parkinson’s. The patient will
shake kind of uncontrollably.
They lose the ability for
personal hygiene. They can’t hold a cup of coffee. It really
hold a cup of coffee. It really
gets in the way of their daily
life. And so we’ve got video
of Kurt Johnson, Kurt Johnson.
He’s a violinist with the Houston Symphony. So up the
Houston Symphony. So up the
U.S. Lee, his career depends
on a steady hand. I mean, he’s
a magnificent violinist.
He showed me tune and I was like, what’s wrong with the
like, what’s wrong with the
head? You violence was to be a
very long controlled And
because of the tremor, he’s not
able to control it like he used
to. He’s developed ways to compensate, but it just still
compensate, but it just still
isn’t. It really isn’t up to
his standards. Now in the past,
it’s not like tremors have
never been treated before.
But in the pit hasn’t been
treated with a brain surgery. That’s highly invasive. It’s
That’s highly invasive. It’s
got a long recovery. You might
have to go back in and find
tune. It with the MRI. I’m
telling you, this is
noninvasive. There’s no incisions. There’s no
incisions. There’s no
anesthesia. There is no
surgery. I almost said there
was no needle. But to be
honest, there’s a needle for
the ivy. So the only one comparing it to bring right.
comparing it to bring right.
And that certain the procedure
takes about an hour. I’m
telling you before the
procedure, his trembling can’t hold his hand steady. An hour
hold his hand steady. An hour
later. His life is transformed.
I’m sure this is Johnson.
This is minutes after this
treatment. He talks to me with his doctor. Greg Bonnen.
his doctor. Greg Bonnen.
Listen to this.
>> There’s a measure of control
that you appreciate that a lay
person doesn’t necessarily going to talk about say
going to talk about say
brushing your teeth.
That’s something everybody can
relate to correct as it.
And what was that like before? Well, it felt like I was going
Well, it felt like I was going
to brush my whole head my whole
face that it. So I would than
switch to my left or you had to
learn all kinds of ways to
compensate compositions and learning how to use my left
learning how to use my left
hand.
>> As a matter of fact, this
past summer to conducting
workshops and Boise, Idaho and
I thought it would be
therapeutic to go there.
And you know, this in
conducting. So I started with
my right. I was. Shaking like
that was going like that. And then I that I spoke with
And then I that I spoke with
the instructor. So I’m gonna go
to your left. So but still,
that was frustrating because I
want to do conduct in the traditional with my right hand.
traditional with my right hand.
Of course, my dominant hand.
>> Yes, so that what you’re
looking at is him during the
procedure several times throughout the hour. They’ll
throughout the hour. They’ll
stop and check and see.
How much progress they’re
making to steady the tremor.
So he’s a little bit unsteady
there. But you saw that when he
when he when he got the thing to do the conductor stick.
to do the conductor stick.
I don’t know what that’s
called. Forgive me He was
conducting. It was much more
Baton, I’m sorry, Doctor. Kimbrough time. Yes. So Kurtz
Kimbrough time. Yes. So Kurtz
now.
Is trimmer is gone. He’s ready
to start the start of the
season with the symphony, which
does begin next week. Good luck
treatment. This week off to
the symphony the next week.
I mean, it’s just incredible
that telling us we play that
with his doctor. Just put it
down so fast. Wow, as my gut
tells me, yeah, the results.
So when you say like I mean,
because normally is used like
steadying his arm again
something and he didn’t have to
do that anymore. I mean, he’s
now.
>> He’s back. He’s back to that standard that the sick free
standard that the sick free
hand while right? Yeah. Can
this be used to treat
Parkinson’s in that sense or
so? The doctor tells me that it
can be used to treat tremor,
dominant. >> Parkinson’s, it’s not
>> Parkinson’s, it’s not
necessarily all forms of
Parkinson’s. He says that
Parkinson’s, most of the time
affects both sides of the brain
with essential tremors. They’re looking typically only towards
looking typically only towards
one side. And so right now the
MRI is geared towards the one
side plus some kind of bad news is that Medicare doesn’t really
is that Medicare doesn’t really
cover this yet for everyone.
It might not cover it for
Parkinson’s. The company says
that it does cover it for
essential tremors in some circumstances under part B.
circumstances under part B.
But so Yey, Houston Physicians
Hospital is the only one I know
of right now. I hear that
there’s others starting to do
this. Maybe in the medical center, you might want to just
center, you might want to just
reach out to them. Doctor Greg
Bonnen, see if this is
something if if well, we have
to work for you, maybe. Yeah.
One of your candidate. Yes. And then about payment.
And then about payment.
>> And yeah, I mean, I one
downside of feeling with a lot
of these developments. We have
to get through that time was
like, look, we’re trying this
out. It is really expensive.
Yeah. We wish everybody could have it. They can’t right now.
have it. They can’t right now.
But we’re trying. Yeah, yeah, I
go to my Facebook page. We’ve
got more people commenting on
that. We found out Joel
Eisenbaum was diagnosed with