Saudi Researcher at Harvard University Discovers Uses of Sugammadex to Reverse Neuromuscular Blockade via Non-Surgery

A seal hangs over a building at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts November 16, 2012. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi/File
A seal hangs over a building at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts November 16, 2012. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi/File
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Saudi Researcher at Harvard University Discovers Uses of Sugammadex to Reverse Neuromuscular Blockade via Non-Surgery

A seal hangs over a building at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts November 16, 2012. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi/File
A seal hangs over a building at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts November 16, 2012. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi/File

Dr. Shaima Al-Zaidi, a scholarship student from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Taif University, conducted a critical care research study during her Harvard University residency, SPA said on Sunday.
The study found that using “Sugammadex” effectively reverses neuromuscular blockade outside surgical operations.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency(SPA), Dr. Shaima said that the drug “Sugammadex” was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2015 for use in surgical operations. She and her research team evaluated the uses of Sugammadex outside operating rooms and disseminated medical practices at Burgham Hospital, the second-largest teaching hospital at Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts.
The research has been accepted for presentation at the Critical Care Medical Conference, and the results will be published in Arizona in January 2024.
Dr. Shaima also praised the hospital for its excellence, citing how it provided her with opportunities to learn about the latest medical experiments in creating various medicines, thereby enhancing her experience. She expressed gratitude to the Saudi leadership for investing in human resources by enrolling professionals from renowned international universities across different specialties.
Dr. Shaimaa was honored with the Scientific Excellence Award and graduated among the first in the professional Ph.D. program in pharmacy at the Medical University of South Carolina. Subsequently, she joined the general pharmacy residency program at Brigham Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical University. Currently, she is completing a specialty residency program in critical care at the same hospital.



World War II Sergeant Whose Plane Was Shot Down over Germany Honored with Reburial in California

This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
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World War II Sergeant Whose Plane Was Shot Down over Germany Honored with Reburial in California

This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)

After 80 years, a World War II sergeant killed in Germany has returned home to California.

On Thursday, community members lined the roads to honor US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport to a burial home in Riverside, California, The AP reported.

Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany, according to Honoring Our Fallen, an organization that provides support to families of fallen military and first responders.

One of the surviving crewmembers saw the plane was on fire, then fell in a steep dive before exploding on the ground. After the crash, German troops buried the remains of one soldier at a local cemetery, while the other six crewmembers, including Banta, were unaccounted for.

Banta was married and had four sisters and a brother. He joined the military because of his older brother Floyd Jack Banta, who searched for Donald Banta his whole life but passed away before he was found.

Donald Banta's niece was present at the planeside honors ceremony at the Ontario airport coordinated by Honoring Our Fallen.

The remains from the plane crash were initially recovered in 1952, but they could not be identified at the time and were buried in Belgium. Banta was accounted for Sept. 26, 2023, following efforts by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency within the US Department of Defense and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System.