A team of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) researchers has developed a new therapy for a rare childhood immunodeficiency disorder that employs nanotechnology to enhance the use of curcumin as a medication.
Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) affects nearly one in 200,000 births worldwide, and more than 10 Taiwanese children have the disease, pediatrician Shieh Chi-chang (謝奇璋), a professor of clinical medicine at the Tainan-based university who also works at the National Applied Research Laboratories, told a news conference yesterday at the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taipei.
Children with CGD suffer from repeated infections and could die at an early age, as there is no known cure, he said.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
Doctors often prescribe interferons in a bid to prevent more infections or recommend stem cell transplants, he said.
Seeking a more accessible and safer treatment, about six years ago he began researching using curcumin, which is extracted from turmeric roots, Shieh said.
Curcumin’s poor water solubility means it is not readily absorbed by the human body and there have been concerns that it might kill cells other than the targeted ones, he said.
His team eventually developed a method using nanotechnology to wrap curcumin with a more biocompatible material, allowing it to act on target bacteria, he said.
The medication has been tested on mice and he expects to complete clinical testing and commercialization in five years, he said.
He thanked current and former members of the team, including Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Shieh Dar-bin (謝達斌), for their work.
The method could be applied to other diseases with similar pathologies, Shieh Chi-chang told a reporter who asked if developing a cure for one rare disease was worth the effort.
The National Laboratory Animal Center has developed a bacterial artificial chromosome technique that can transfer nearly 200,000 base pairs of human genes into mice, a task few researchers in the world have achieved, center researcher Jiang Si-tse (蔣思澈) added.
The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said it has deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating off northern Batanes near Taiwan, adding that a Chinese coast guard vessel had also moved in. The Philippine operation “disrupted the vessel’s unauthorized marine scientific research and compelled it to leave its loitering position,” said Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson on South China Sea issues. The Philippine Coast Guard said the BRP Teresa Magbanua and an aircraft were deployed to counter the Chinese vessel, which it said had remained about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat Island since Monday. The
RUNWAY: Analysts said the first aircraft landing is expected by the middle of next year, while Chinese state media said it would serve civilian needs Chinese construction of a runway on Antelope Reef (Lingyang Reef, 羚羊礁) in the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), is well under way with analysts estimating it could be completed by the middle of next year, strengthening Beijing’s military control over the disputed South China Sea. Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show grading work, piles of gravel and concrete, and compaction cranes in operation to build a full-scale runway that military attaches and security analysts say could be one of China’s most important offshore bases in the region. The images, taken on Friday last week by commercial satellite imagery provider Vantor, also show
DEFENSE: The US House speaker dismissed speculation that Trump is using arms sales as a negotiating tactic with Beijing amid concern over delayed deliveries Taiwan is a partner whose “stability and independence” are important to US national security and the economy, US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday when asked about arms sales to Taipei in an interview with Fox Business. Asked whether US President Donald Trump was using a long-delayed US$14 billion arms deal as a negotiating tactic for trade with Beijing, Johnson said that he “wouldn’t read too much into that.” The delayed arms package is “related to the Iran conflict” and the need for missile stocks in the Middle East, he said. “If you look over [Trump’s] two terms, he will
WAITING FOR MORE: The delivery comes amid growing concern in Taiwan about the Trump administration’s commitment to arming Taipei, despite US reassurances Taiwan yesterday took delivery of the first two of 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US after years of delays, helping to strengthen an air force that has to scramble almost daily to shadow China’s military. The aircraft, bearing tail numbers 6727 and 6728, landed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung County at about noon after departing from Hawaii and making a stop in Guam. The two fighter jets had been expected to arrive in Taiwan by the end of August, but remained in Hawaii without explanation as US President Donald Trump prepared to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping
RSS