National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital’s Newborn Screening Center has worked with hospitals and clinics across Taiwan, conducting screening for around 120,000 newborns between 2014 and 2016 and finding eight babies with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Two of the babies have been transferred to a different hospital to receive treatment.
SMA is a recessive genetic disease. According to Chien Yin-hsiu, a doctor at NTU Hospital’s Department of Medical Genetics and Department of Pediatrics, SMA patients may appear no different from healthy children in the first one or two months after their birth, but they will gradually lose the ability to move their limbs, to breath and to swallow, which eventually leads to death, usually around the age of one. However, in some cases, the onset of SMA does not occur until the patient is 10 or 20 years old, or even older.
Through extensive newborn screening, NTU Hospital has proven that SMA can be diagnosed in newborns through such screenings. The research was published in the July issue of the Journal of Pediatrics. Now hospitals in the US and Japan have followed NTU Hospital’s footsteps and started conducting SMA screening for newborns.
Photo: CNA
照片:中央社
According to statistics, if untreated or unaided by ventilators, only 10 percent of children with SMA reach their first birthday. However, children who begin receiving treatment before the onset of the disease may have reduced symptoms and higher survival rates.
(CNA, Translated by Tu Yu-an)
從二○一四年到去年,台大醫院新生兒篩檢中心整合全台醫療院所,為十二萬嬰兒進行篩檢,找到八名患有脊髓型肌肉萎縮症的嬰兒,並轉介其中兩人進行治療。
脊髓型肌肉萎縮症是隱性遺傳疾病。台大醫院基因學部暨小兒部主治醫師簡穎秀說,患童剛出生一、兩個月內可能很正常,但四肢會漸漸不能動,呼吸跟吞嚥也會有困難,之後約在一歲時死亡,但有些病患也可能在十歲或二十歲以後才會發病。
台大團隊透過大規模篩檢證實脊髓型肌肉萎縮症患嬰可經由篩檢確認,成果已發表於今年七月的《小兒科期刊》。現在美國、日本團隊也都追隨台大腳步,為新生兒進行該病症的篩檢。
根據統計,罹病的孩子如果沒有治療或使用呼吸器,九成活不過一歲,但若在發病前開始藥物治療,可延緩症狀並提升孩子的活存率。
(中央社)
A: Yet another shopping mall has just opened in Taipei. B: Do you mean the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang? A: Yeah, the shopping mall run by Japanese Mitsui & Co. opened last week. B: I hear the mall features about 300 stores, Vieshow Cinemas and Japanese Lopia supermarket. A: With the opening, a war is breaking out between Taipei’s department stores. A: 台北又有新的購物商場可逛啦。 B: 你是說Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport 南港? A: 對啊這家日本三井集團旗下的商場上週開幕。 B: 聽說商場有威秀影城、樂比亞日系超市,還有多達300家專櫃。 A: 新商場一開幕,看來又要掀起一場百貨大戰啦! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
A: Hey, didn’t you go to the opening of the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang last week? B: Yeah, there are about 300 shops, including the first overseas branch of Japan’s Mahou Dokoro — a famous Harry Potter-themed store. A: Wow, I’ve always wanted to get a magic wand. B: There are also a bunch of great restaurants, such as Smart Fish hotpot restaurant. A: I wish I had Harry Potter’s “apparition” and “disapparition” magic, so I could teleport to the mall right now. A: 你上週不是有去LaLaport南港的盛大開幕嗎?有什麼特別的? B: 那裡有多達300家專櫃,包括魔法之地的海外首店——它可是日本知名的《哈利波特》專賣店。 A: 哇我一直想買根魔杖。 B: 另外還有各式各樣的美食,像是林聰明沙鍋魚頭。 A: 真希望我也有哈利波特的「現影術/消影術」魔法,能瞬間移動到商場去! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
When it comes to movies, some people delight in watching spine-chilling horror films. Surprisingly, apart from containing a few scares, horror movies may also offer an unexpected __1__. According to a study, watching 90 minutes of a scary movie can burn an average of 113 calories, which is roughly __2__ to taking a 30-minute walk. Researchers from the University of Westminster carried out an experiment in which they __3__ participants’ oxygen intake, carbon dioxide output, and heart rates while they were watching horror movies without any distractions. The results revealed that physiological responses to fear play a crucial role
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看,這句話英語該怎麼說? 1. 你覺得這部電影怎樣? ˇ What do you think of the movie? χ How do you like the movie? χ How do you think of the movie? 註︰What do you think of = What is your opinion of。 think 的受詞是 what,不能用 how。 2. 你認為哪一個歌星唱得最好? ˇ Which singer do you think is the best? χ Do you think which singer is the best? 註︰英語中 which singer 似乎是 do you think 的受詞,實則 do you think 是插入語,其他例子如下: 你以為他喜歡誰? Who do you think he likes? 你以為我住在哪裏? Where do you think I live? 你想我昨天在公園裏碰到了誰? Whom/Who do you think I met in the park yesterday? 3. 他不論到什麼地方,總是帶著一把雨傘。 ˇ No matter where he goes, he