Researchers have identified a site in the brain linked to a medical condition known as essential tremor, potentially paving the way for new methods to treat it.
Essential tremor, which affects 4 percent of adults and 20 percent of elderly people, has no clearly understood trigger, Pan Ming-kai (潘明楷), an associate professor in National Taiwan University’s Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Using photonics and maths, researchers tuned into the brainwaves of people experiencing tremors, enabling the condition’s point of origin to be located, Pan said.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
The results show that a specific frequency can be observed in the brainwaves of people experiencing tremors for four to 12 seconds, he said.
The research suggests that the abnormal impulses that cause essential tremor stem entirely from the cerebellum and not the contiguous region between it and the cerebrum as formerly believed, he said.
Experiments by the research team indicate that optogenetics — a technology combining photonic stimulation and genetic science that manipulates organic tissue on a cellular level — can reduce the frequency of tremors in lab mice, Pan said.
Humans subconsciously use the cerebellum to coordinate motor functions, he said, adding that photonic stimulations can train that part of the brain to generate neural oscillations more steadily, helping to prevent tremors.
Although drinking coffee, smoking, and eating soy sauce and roasted meat have been linked to essential tremor, genetic sequence-based research into possible causes have yielded contradictory results in different nations, he said.
The two drugs approved by Taiwan’s health authorities are effective in no more than 50 percent of patients, Pan said.
Ultrasound or electrode-based procedures that stimulate or destroy parts of the brain can mitigate tremors, but the relief is temporary and fades after a few years, he said.
The research team is hopeful that the study would contribute to treating the condition and a US-based research institution has expressed interest in using its findings for electrode implant technology, Pan said.
The study received funding from the National Science and Technology Council and was published in the May issue of Science Translational Medicine.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
Taiwanese barista Xie Yi-chen (謝溢宸) recently triumphed at the 2024 World Coffee Championships, taking home 1st place in the World Latte Art category. Xie, 28, impressed the judges in the final round with patterns of a whale, a moose, and a dragon in the three-day competition that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark from June 27-29, clinching the title of latte art world champion during his first time representing Taiwan on the world stage. At a press conference held by the Taiwan Coffee Association on Thursday, Xie said that creating latte art gives him a tremendous feeling of achievement. Speaking about his entries in
TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: The program is to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks and would start for Taiwanese from January next year Japan is to launch a new program to expedite entry procedures for Taiwanese starting from January next year. The Japanese government is planning to introduce new rules to shorten the time it takes foreign travelers to pass through immigration, thereby attracting more tourists to visit, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday. An airport preclearance program would be implemented to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival, it said. The program would initially be applied to travelers from Taiwan from January next year and could be extended to travelers from elsewhere depending
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to