NCKU’s research papers on enterovirus treatment cited by WHO
Tainan, Taiwan, February 6, 2014
The World Health Organization (WHO) has cited 20 journal articles published by southern-Taiwan-based National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) research teams in the process of setting medical standards for treating enterovirus.
NCKU’s own infectious disease research teams have previously pioneered studies on Enterovirus 71(EV-71), thus making great contributions to the treatment of this disease, according to the university.
Collaborations with National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) in the development of related vaccines and research on sequelae of enterovirus on children have produced excellent results.
“Every summer is the peak of the enterovirus infection epidemic. Many lives have been taken by this epidemic in the previous years”, said the NCKU Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research (CIDSR) enterovirus project researcher Dr. Shih-Min Wang, who is also a physician at the NCKU Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine.
Since 1998, CIDSR started carrying out research on EV-71 as NCKU was also the first institution to confirm the case of the same virus.
The research center has identified through clinical medicine, virology, radiology and pathology that brain stem is the subject of attack by EV-71.
NCKU research team has discovered on EV-71-infected infants viral infection of brain stems and systemic inflammatory response.
They found out that cytokine overproduction is the main cause of pulmonary edema whereas systemic inflammatory response is the main cause of severe EV-71 disease.
At the same time, NCKU has also set up clinical practice guidelines and classification of EV-71 brainstem encephalitis.
For example, patients suffering from autonomic dysfunction will be injected with immunoglobulin whereas those suffering from pulmonary edema will be injected with Milrinone.
“The clinical treatment experiment using Milrinone on EV-71, which was jointly conducted by our team and Children’s Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has proven the treatment effect of Milrinone,” added Dr. Wang.
NCKU has also worked with NHRI and Chang Gung University (CGU) Professor Dr. Shin-Ru Shih on studying the interaction of cells and viruses, viral replication and host antibody response to assist in the development of effective antiviral drugs and also serve as a pilot research on vaccine development.
Besides, a series of EV-71 monoclonal antibody has been developed while establishing collaborations with biotechnology firms to jointly develop new rapid diagnostic methods for EV-71.
Apart from research on EV-71 treatment, NCKU research teams have also carried out studies on sequelae of enterovirus on infected infants. After tracing for a long time, it has been discovered that some children will suffer from neurological sequelae two years after having the virus, where the more severe the infection, the greater the effect of the sequelae, Dr. Wang said.
EV-71 infected kids with no complications of brainstem encephalitis though will only suffer from minor neurological sequelae with slight effect on their cognitive abilities. However, infected kids with pulmonary edema complications will experience severe respiratory and motor dysfunction. Therefore, Dr. Wang added, complications of the central nervous system due to EV-71 infection and its long-term prognosis still require more research for further verification.
NCKU CIDSR has carried integrative and fundamental research on Taiwan’s important domestic infectious disease caused by EV-71, dengue virus and also virus-causing cancers.
Inclusive of four sub-project, the goal of the research center is to pioneer research on EV-71 and dengue virus in Asia and the rest of the world, engage in the development of vaccine and medical drugs and investigate the mechanism of various viruses and cancers while establishing a integrative platform for teaching and research and nurturing professionals for infectious disease prevention.
CIDSR will also help the industry in setting up an integrative vertical chain on infectious disease research, thus becoming the top infectious disease research center in the world.
Enditem/
The World Health Organization (WHO) has cited 20 journal articles published by southern-Taiwan-based National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) research teams in the process of setting medical standards for treating enterovirus.
NCKU’s own infectious disease research teams have previously pioneered studies on Enterovirus 71(EV-71), thus making great contributions to the treatment of this disease, according to the university.
Collaborations with National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) in the development of related vaccines and research on sequelae of enterovirus on children have produced excellent results.
“Every summer is the peak of the enterovirus infection epidemic. Many lives have been taken by this epidemic in the previous years”, said the NCKU Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research (CIDSR) enterovirus project researcher Dr. Shih-Min Wang, who is also a physician at the NCKU Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine.
Since 1998, CIDSR started carrying out research on EV-71 as NCKU was also the first institution to confirm the case of the same virus.
The research center has identified through clinical medicine, virology, radiology and pathology that brain stem is the subject of attack by EV-71.
NCKU research team has discovered on EV-71-infected infants viral infection of brain stems and systemic inflammatory response.
They found out that cytokine overproduction is the main cause of pulmonary edema whereas systemic inflammatory response is the main cause of severe EV-71 disease.
At the same time, NCKU has also set up clinical practice guidelines and classification of EV-71 brainstem encephalitis.
For example, patients suffering from autonomic dysfunction will be injected with immunoglobulin whereas those suffering from pulmonary edema will be injected with Milrinone.
“The clinical treatment experiment using Milrinone on EV-71, which was jointly conducted by our team and Children’s Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has proven the treatment effect of Milrinone,” added Dr. Wang.
NCKU has also worked with NHRI and Chang Gung University (CGU) Professor Dr. Shin-Ru Shih on studying the interaction of cells and viruses, viral replication and host antibody response to assist in the development of effective antiviral drugs and also serve as a pilot research on vaccine development.
Besides, a series of EV-71 monoclonal antibody has been developed while establishing collaborations with biotechnology firms to jointly develop new rapid diagnostic methods for EV-71.
Apart from research on EV-71 treatment, NCKU research teams have also carried out studies on sequelae of enterovirus on infected infants. After tracing for a long time, it has been discovered that some children will suffer from neurological sequelae two years after having the virus, where the more severe the infection, the greater the effect of the sequelae, Dr. Wang said.
EV-71 infected kids with no complications of brainstem encephalitis though will only suffer from minor neurological sequelae with slight effect on their cognitive abilities. However, infected kids with pulmonary edema complications will experience severe respiratory and motor dysfunction. Therefore, Dr. Wang added, complications of the central nervous system due to EV-71 infection and its long-term prognosis still require more research for further verification.
NCKU CIDSR has carried integrative and fundamental research on Taiwan’s important domestic infectious disease caused by EV-71, dengue virus and also virus-causing cancers.
Inclusive of four sub-project, the goal of the research center is to pioneer research on EV-71 and dengue virus in Asia and the rest of the world, engage in the development of vaccine and medical drugs and investigate the mechanism of various viruses and cancers while establishing a integrative platform for teaching and research and nurturing professionals for infectious disease prevention.
CIDSR will also help the industry in setting up an integrative vertical chain on infectious disease research, thus becoming the top infectious disease research center in the world.
Enditem/
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