Newly approved drug for dementia targets ‘villain proteins’ in the brain

Newly approved drug for dementia targets ‘villain proteins’ in the brain

2025-08-26

A new breakthrough in the fight against dementia. Taiwan has approved a targeted therapy aimed at slowing cognitive decline in patients with early-stage symptoms. The treatment uses anti-amyloid targeted therapy to remove harmful proteins in the brain before they can alter its structure. Right now, it’s only approved for mild dementia patients, while clinical trials are still needed for those in moderate to severe stages. Let’s hear from a doctor.

Hu Chaur-jong
Taipei Medical University College of Medicine
People with mild dementia, or mild cognitive impairment make up more than 15% of the population aged 65 and up. With early intervention and diagnosis, we can prevent the condition from progressing to moderate or severe dementia. That would significantly reduce the burden of care.

Hsu Jung-lung
Taiwan Dementia Society
Inside the brain there are two proteins, amyloid-beta and tau proteins that act like two villains. They are bad proteins, and they can damage nerve cells and impairing brain function. So this new targeted drug can take these protein villains away to slow down progression of the disease.

The total number of dementia patients is expected to reach 680,000 in 15 years, making for a prevalence rate of 10%. Doctors remind the general public that dementia is a medical condition that does not necessarily develop with age. Signs to watch out for include memory loss, declining logic and judgment, and trouble with language. They may also include sudden mood changes or personality shifts, withdrawal from society, poor task execution and confusion regarding time and place. Misplacing objects frequently can also be an early indicator. Experts say that the sooner you detect these signs and seek medical attention for treatment, the better.

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#dementia #medicine #protein #aging #eldercare

輕度失智症適用! "抗類澱粉蛋白標靶治療"去除腦中不好蛋白

2025-08-26

台灣失智症人口逐年上升，預估再過15年後，將逼近68萬人，盛行率高達10%，為了降低失智症的發生率，又有新的治療法通過核准，利用"抗類澱粉蛋白標靶治療"，去除腦中不好的蛋白，避免改變腦部結構，但目前只適用輕度病人，對中、重度失智症的患者，還要進行臨床實驗。

[[台北醫學大學醫學院院長胡朝榮]]
“極輕度或者是MCI (輕度認知功能障礙)的這一群人，大概佔了我們65歲以上的族群超過百分之15%，我們可以早點介入，早點診斷，可以把這個病人，擋在這個MCI這個階段，那他就不會往這個中度、重度走，說不定我們就可以減少很多，這個照顧上的負擔”

[[台灣臨床失智症學會理事長徐榮隆]]
“在腦子裡面有這些毒性的蛋白，比如說像是類澱粉蛋白，Tau蛋白，就好像是兩個壞蛋，它們是一個不好的蛋白質，那麼這些不好的蛋白質，影響到我們的神經細胞，讓我們失去功能，所以我們這個新的標靶的藥物，就是把其中一個壞蛋把它清乾淨，讓我們的疾病的進展就會減慢”

醫生強調，失智症和老化不同，如果出現記憶力、邏輯退化，判斷力減弱，或是語言能力退化，情緒個性改變，對社交退縮，執行力變差，對時間、空間混亂，找不到東西等十大警訊，就要小心可能是失智症，最好及早就醫，早期預防。

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Two Japanese tourists deported for posting pro-annexation video

Two Japanese tourists recently published a video on Chinese social media waving China’s Five-star Red Flag and declaring that “Taiwan belongs to China.” The video then began circulating among Taiwanese netizens and reported to the National Immigration Agency. They were then deemed to have violated the Immigration Act for endangering Taiwan’s national interests, and were deported and barred from re-entering Taiwan for a certain period of time accordingly. Following the incident, netizens are also discovering some surprising facts about the two of them.

Of course Taiwan belongs to China, yes, thank you. We both love China, yes, thank you.

The two Japanese tourists are filming themselves at Ximending waving the Five-star Red Flag and declaring their love for China.

Ozawa Hiroyuki
Content creator
Hello, everyone. I am the adorable Japanese character Tanaka-san. Today I’m here in Taiwan, China.

Todomi Aira
Content creator
Hello, everyone. We’re from Japan. We really love China. We hope that relations between China and Japan will always be very good.

The man in a white T-shirt on the right is an influencer named Ozawa Hiroyuki who’d repeatedly called for forced annexation of Taiwan. Ironically, he also married a Taiwanese woman last year.

Ozawa Hiroyuki
Content creator
I’m here in Taiwan Province. I’m at my wife’s childhood home in Taipei. I’m for Taiwan’s unification with China.

The other one of them appears to be a male host. Taiwanese influencer Pa Chiung and many others reported them to the National Immigration Agency.

Pa Chiung
Influencer
Of course I want relevant authorities to be tough. Who cares which country they’re from. Anyone on the same page with CCP Little Pinks, who wants to destroy our national sovereignty, who wants CCP rule, begs to be reported.

Chinese-born Japanese opinion leader Yaita Akio, who founded the Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank, also made a social media post criticizing the behavior. He said the two Japanese nationals were resorting to unscrupulous behaviors for money and likened them to “that certain Taiwanese meathead,” referring to Holger Chen.

Huang Wen-cheng
National Immigration Agency
They have been deported in accordance with the law. The two individuals violated the Immigration Act. As such, they’ve been put on a watchlist and will be banned from re-entering Taiwan.

Critics say the two deported Japanese nationals crossed a red line that touched upon Taiwan’s national interests and trampled over sensitive cross-strait relations.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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#taiwan #china #controversial #taiwanidentity #taiwantravel

2025-08-26

Officials urge calm after locust plague in New Taipei

In a biblical twist, New Taipei City has been slammed by a plague of locusts. They’ve been spotted on people’ balconies, sidewalks and even in the MRT and bus stations, which see hordes during rush hour. The good news is that these locusts are not poisonous. The city government’s Department of Agriculture says this is a seasonal phenomenon and is urging the public not to panic.

Recently, videos of locusts infesting New Taipei City have gone viral online. Whether it’s roadside plants or dead branches, several locusts will be seen swarming on them. They’ve even been spotted in people’s homes, balconies and car windows.

Member of the public
There are so many. There are so many at school.

Member of the public
I think this is really interesting. I just want to catch one and show it to my kids.

Locusts have been spotted in places ranging from Linkou and Taishan District to Zhonghe and Yonghe.

A Lo
Insect expert
They appear in large numbers during this season, and this probably doesn’t really have a big connection to humidity or environmental changes. They happen to be insects that come out in the summer, when it’s late summer or early autumn. In addition to the wilderness, there’s also underbrush in urban areas. Basically anywhere where there is undergrowth may be their habitat.

The locusts spotted in New Taipei are known as Hieroglyphus tonkinesis. They breed in large numbers from May to October each year and are most commonly found in underbrush. New Taipei City’s Department of Agriculture says this is a seasonal ecological phenomenon. The insects are not a pest, so there is no cause for the public to panic.

A Lo
Insect expert
The locusts that have recently appeared frequently are called Hieroglyphus tonkinesis. They mainly feed on plants. They may eat some grass plants, such as rice, bamboo, sugarcane or corn.

The species is not poisonous. Experts remind the public that keeping their environment clean can keep them away. If you see one, use a newspaper or containers to gently guide it away.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#bugs #insects #locusts #plague

2025-08-26

3-day ESG reporting event focuses on sustainability disclosure standards

You might have heard of ESG, which stands for environmental, social and governance. But what exactly does it actually entail? Far from headline-generating innovations and away from the public eye, businesses must also follow international accounting standards to accurately report their sustainability efforts. However, sustainability reporting standards were only introduced in 2023. That’s why the Accounting Research and Development Foundation has organized a three-day event dedicated to this very topic.

“ESG lights up the future.” The 2025 ESG Summit, which kicked off at Nangang Exhibition Center is headlined by eight leaders from international accounting standards organizations, featuring 42 sessions over three days, and two exhibition areas.

Chen Yen-liang
FSC Vice Chairperson
In Taiwan now, the insurance field has already put almost US$2 billion into green power plants, and about US$25 billion of green bonds have been sold.

A plastic upcycling company is showing how they turn waste fishing nets and plastic cartons into a material that can be made into construction toy parts.

Hung Shih-hui
Executive assistant at plastic upcycling company
We can produce up to 4,000 tons of upcycled plastic pellets. I want to encourage everyone to recycle properly so that we can recycle and reuse waste material.

Juan Chang-hsin
Recycling solutions company vice president
This robotic arm can identify around more than 30 types of recyclables, such as cartons and PET bottles. Our solutions can even go as far as to distinguish between colors and even brands.

The recycling solutions company has developed a comprehensive AI-powered sorting facility, making up for labor shortage while promoting environmental sustainability. Meanwhile, a telecommunications company has introduced an AI-powered base station site selection system, which can quickly identify the most energy-efficient location.

Huang Hui-chun
Senior manager at telecom company’s ESG division
AI can identify base stations that can be retired by analyzing factors such as signal strength and population distribution. That way, we save around 60 million kilowatt hours of electricity, reducing around 30,000 tons of carbon emissions.

Taiwan businesses are contributing to a green future by incorporating advanced technologies, demonstrating their resolve toward achieving net-zero emissions.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#ESG #sustainability #IFRS #ISSB #greenfinance

2025-08-26

Michelin Guide announces 144 local Bib Gourmand selections

The Michelin Guide recently announced that 144 restaurants in Taiwan have received its Bib Gourmand distinction, adding 37 establishments from last year. It’s also the first time New Taipei, Hsinchu County, and Hsinchu City have been included. A rare vegetarian restaurant from Taipei made the cut, offering plant-based Asian dishes like homemade green curry and a walnut and bell pepper dip. Pork rice and vermicelli noodle eateries from Hsinchu were also featured, busting the myth that Hsinchu is a “food desert.”

They may look just like scallops, but these are actually king oyster mushrooms with vegetarian “fish” roe made from carrot and goat’s milk cheese. They’re all different flavors, but each one is crispy on the outside while staying moist inside. Even this risotto is entirely vegetarian, immersed in a flavorful green curry. This restaurant is one of the establishments to make it onto this year’s Michelin Bib Gourmand list.

A panful of mushrooms sizzles over high heat. To bring out the curry flavor even more, the chef adds curry leaves and Thai basil.

The rice absorbs the soup stock and green curry. When each grain becomes nice and plump, it’s ready to serve. The owner said that the hardest part of serving vegetarian Asian food is getting the sauce right.

Lee I-ming
Owner
In our garden we have all kinds of herbs. We’ll sometimes take from it, like when we need to add a bit of bitterness, or some sweetness, or the phytochemicals. From that, we’ll make our sauces.

Hsinchu has also washed away its reputation as a food desert by welcoming dishes like this braised pork rice with egg, bursting with salty goodness.

This healthy chicken soup with fleeceflower root also made the cut. The broth has over 30 kinds of medicinal herbs, completed by traditional dumpling noodles made from the chef’s mother’s old recipe.

Cheng Ming-hsuan
Owner
I’m very happy. Our hard work has been recognized. For the braised pork rice, we use hand-cut pork neck, so the pieces are bigger.

Liao Chiu-hua
Owner
It has over 30 kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs, mainly fleeceflower root. The herbs in the soup need to be boiled for seven hours.

There are 144 restaurants on the list this year in total, after welcoming 37 new additions. It’s also the first time that eateries from New Taipei and Hsinchu were included, in what are sure to be hot new destinations for Taiwan’s foodies.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Fubon Art Museum displays Impressionist paintings from the Worcester Art Museum

The Fubon Art Museum is currently hosting an exhibition to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Impressionism. The exhibition showcases works from over 30 artists, including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and more. The works are from a collection from the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts. FTV reporter Stephany Yang takes us inside to see the highlights!

The exhibition highlights how Impressionism spread from Paris to the rest of the world. It features Monet’s famous “Water Lily Pond” and works by US artists such as John Singer Sargent and Childe Hassam.

Matthias Waschek
Worcester Art Museum director
When many artists from Asia who went to be trained in France, they learned the Impressionist language if you will and brought that language back home, so it is a kind of round trip.

Claire Whitner
Worcester Art Museum curator
This exhibition specifically looks at how Impressionism in France spread throughout the world, and specifically in the United States. The highlights will certainly be some of our extraordinary French Impressionist paintings like our Monet Water Lilies, but also looking at Monet’s and the Impressionist’s influences on artists working in Europe. It will also include paintings by John Singer Sargent, several paintings from our collection. He wasn’t specifically an Impressionist but he was strongly influenced by them.

The exhibition features 53 works by over 30 artists, with big names such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassatt, and Childe Hassam. The Worcester Art Museum is a pioneer in collecting Impressionist works.

Claire Whitner
Worcester Art Museum curator
It will also feature American impressionists. One artist that is particularly well represented in our collection is Childe Hassam, who is a Dorchester, Massachusetts native, which is now part of Boston. Very much one of the most famous American impressionists from Massachusetts. The exhibition concludes with artists who went west in the United States as the country was expanding and a personal favorite of our staff and my own is the DeWitt Parshall paintings of the Grand Canyon.

Worcester Art Museum director
Matthias Waschek
Normally, Impressionism is a very humid climate. Whereas the Grand Canyon is very dry heat so this translation of the Impressionist language, if you will, into a very dry environment is particularly remarkable.

The exhibition will be held at the Fubon Art Musuem until Sept. 29.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#impressionism #impressionist #FubonArtMuseum #ClaudeMonet #PierreAugusteRenoir #WorcesterArtMuseum

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