China bans popular Alzheimer’s disease surgery pending clinical studies

National Health Commission says more research needed on procedure that has been performed in nearly 400 hospitals across the country

The surgery has grown in popularity, particularly over the past year, since it was first performed in 2021 by a microsurgery expert from a private hospital in Hangzhou, in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

Based on publicly available information, an estimated 382 hospitals across almost all Chinese provinces had performed the procedure by the end of June.