Two drugs already in use could be effective in fighting SARS, National Health Research Institutes researchers said yesterday.
The anti-psychotic drug Promazine and Niclosamide, a drug which is used in the treatment of worm infections, may be able to fight the SARS virus, according to the government-run institute.
"After different experiments, we have proved that these two kinds of drugs have a significant effect in inhibiting the replication of SARS-coronavirus," the institute said in a statement.
The drugs would work best if used during the initial stage of a SARS infection, it said.
The institute said it had filed a patent application on May 28 with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the discovery and is now trying to develop a new anti-SARS medicine based on the finding.
Researchers had produced more than 10 new compounds that were effective in controlling SARS-coronavirus based on Promazine's formula, the institute said.
But further experiments were required to test their clinical effects and safety on humans, it said.
SARS killed 774 people out of 8,098 cases worldwide, according to the latest toll of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO on Sept. 26 revised Taiwan's death toll from the epidemic down from 180 to 37 after ruling that 143 of the fatalities had not in fact died from the disease.
A team of researchers, led by Marie Lin (
According to their findings, the severity of SARS was shown to be significantly associated with the HLA-B46 gene found in people across the region.
In an effort to prevent a resurgence of the deadly epidemic this winter, the government will reopen a "Fever Hotline" on Nov. 15 to give consultations to people in doubt about their health.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS