A research team at National Cheng Kung University said they have found that an organic compound used to induce labor can revive heart muscle cells, which had been regarded as impossible to regenerate after the first month of birth.
Patrick Hsieh (謝清河), the stem-cell team leader at the school’s Institute of Clinical Medicine, said that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) can regulate cardiac stem-cell activity and induce heart regeneration in mice, even in aged mice.
Prostaglandins are a group of lipid compounds that are derived enzymatically from fatty acids and have important functions in animals’ bodies.
They have had clinical applications in obstetrics and gynecology, where PGE2 is used to induce labor, but this latest study found that PGE2 can also stimulate spontaneous cardiac repair and may one day be seen as an alternative to heart transplants, the team said.
Hsieh said the team have applied for patents in many countries and are working on developing new drugs based on the findings, but he did not give a time frame of when PGE2-based heart medications might become available.
Describing the compound’s effect as “bringing [cells] back to life” and “rejuvenation,” Hsieh said the compound revives heart muscle cells by removing factors contributing to aging.
Hsieh said the team spent seven years on the study, which has been published in the European journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.
Should the findings result in viable medications for humans, it would represent a major breakthrough because cardiovascular disease, such as congestive heart failure, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world.
About 400,000 patients are suffering from congestive heart failure in Taiwan and 6 million in the US.
Despite intensive medical or surgical treatment, 80 percent of patients die within eight years of diagnosis, Hsieh said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it