As people age, a normal brain protein known as amyloid beta often starts to collect into harmful amyloid plaques in the brain. Such plaques can be the first step on the path to Alzheimer’s dementia. When they form around blood vessels in the brain, a condition known as cerebral amyloid angiopathy, the plaques also raise the risk of strokes.

Hot flashes. Night sweats. Irregular menstrual periods.

Black women approaching menopause may experience these symptoms—and others—for a decade before their menstrual cycles cease all together. White women, on average, experience menopausal symptoms for approximately 6½ years.

The beeping vibrato of pressure monitors, mechanical rhythm of the blood pump, low hum of the oxygenator and metronomic beat measuring heart rate: These are the sounds that emanate from a complex circuit of pumps, tubes, filters and monitors called ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. ECMO moves blood outside of the body through cannulae, or tubes, to an oxygenator that provides a gas exchange in the blood, removing carbon dioxide and replacing it with oxygen. The oxygenated blood is then warmed to the appropriate temperature and returned to the body using rhythms that mimic a beating heart.

When disease or trauma prevent the body from performing these life-sustaining rhythms, ECMO can take over.

Functional neurosurgery—surgical interaction with the brain to improve function—was pioneered to treat people in need of pain relief, often those suffering with terminal cancer. Simple early procedures included surgically creating tiny lesions, also called ablations, in specific areas of the nervous system linked to pain.

The field has come a long way since those early days, says Jon Willie, MD, PhD, Washington University neurosurgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.