A team of National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) researchers yesterday said that they have used ultrasonic waves to treat Parkinson’s disease in mice, turning ultrasound — mainly used for medical scanning — into a treatment tool.
NTHU Institute of Molecular Medicine associate professor Lin Yu-chun (林玉俊) said that he has been looking for a safe and noninvasive way to control cell activity.
As optical waves cannot penetrate more than 2mm of human tissue and magnetic waves cannot be used for precision targeting, Lin said that he turned to ultrasonic waves, but had to first solve the problem of making human cells responsive to soundwaves.
Photo courtesy of National Tsing Hua University via CNA
While prestin — a protein critical to sensitive hearing — is found in all mammals, it is insensitive to ultrasound in humans and mice, so Lin began studying the proteins of dolphins, whales and bats, which are known for their acoustic sensitivity, he said.
Humans and some other animals cannot hear sounds with frequencies higher than 20 kilohertz (kHz), he added.
After identifying the specific amino acid compositions related to sound perception in dolphins, whales and bats, Lin said that he reformed the prestin in lab mice through genetic editing and implanted the reformed protein into their cells, increasing their sensitivity to ultrasound by more than 10 times.
Yeh Chih-kuang (葉秩光), distinguished professor and director of the university’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, designed special microbubbles — lipid droplets filled with inert gas — to envelop the reformed prestin and carry it into the blood of mice, Lin said.
The microbubbles break apart when hit by ultrasonic waves, allowing the reformed prestin to reach target cells directly, which is another form of precision medicine, he said.
The technique has proved effective in treating mice with Parkinson’s disease, with their mobility greatly improving after treatment, as shown in a video released by the team.
While ultrasonic waves are mainly used for medical examinations, the team has turned them into a treatment tool, Lin said, expressing the hope that the technique could be used to treat diabetes or cancers by activating pertinent cells.
The findings of the team, composed of members of several university departments, as well as Academia Sinica, were published last month in the journal Nano Letters.
Medical ultrasound frequencies are usually higher than 100kHz, but the team has only experimented with ultrasonic waves of up to 500kHz, Lin said.
The team will continue experimenting with different ultrasonic frequencies, improve the auditory sensitivity of cells and apply the technique to more diseases, he added.
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
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
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