Researchers said they have been investigating a new treatment for frontotemporal dementia that involves the use of an antibiotic that is normally used for treating cancer. By using rapamycin, an antifungal antibiotic, on mice with early-stage frontotemporal dementia, researchers were able to rescue the learning and memory functions of the mice, as well as slow down their loss of motor function.
Even when using the drug in later stages of the disease, motor function was significantly improved, said Tsai Kuen-jer (蔡坤哲), an assistant professor at the Institute of Clinical Medicine at National Cheng Kung University, one of the lead authors of the research.
Frontotemporal dementia is caused by damage to the front of the brain and is likely to cause personality change as well as loss of memory, the ability to -communicate and motor function. It usually occurs to people with a family history of the disease.
Among other types of dementia — Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia and vascular dementia — frontotemporal dementia tends to occur among a younger age group, Tsai said.
For people aged 65 and older, frontotemporal dementia is the fourth-most common cause of dementia, although it is ranked the second-most common cause of dementia for people aged under 65, he said. The antibiotic is normally used to treat cancer, Huntington’s disease — a neurological disorder that causes progressive degeneration of cells in the brain — and Alzheimer’s, he said. The new use of the drug will help people cope with a problem that affects about nine in every 100,000 people.
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder