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Laos Joins Global Call for Action on Climate, Health Issues at COP28

The Vice Minister of Laos and others speaking at COP28 in the UAE (Photo: WHO)

Laos has joined 122 other countries in endorsing the Declaration on Climate and Health (COP28) at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates from 30 November to 12 December.

Mother of Five Killed by UXO Continues to Portray Burden of ‘Secret War’

Mother of Five Killed by UXO, Remains Obstacle to Rural Development
UXO remains an obstacle to rural and socio-economic development in Laos. (Photo/MAG UXO Visitor Information Centre, Laos/Bart verweij)

A young mother of five, Joy Saenkham, was killed by an unexploded ordinance (UXO) as a result of domestic farming in her vegetable plot in Kokmuang village, Toumlan district, Salavanh Province.

UN Warns That 2 Boats Adrift in the Andaman Sea With 400 Rohingya Aboard Desperately Need Rescue

UN warns that 2 boats adrift in the Andaman Sea with 400 Rohingya aboard desperately need rescue
FILE - Ethnic Rohingya men sit on a beach after they landed in Sabang, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. The U.N. refugee agency on Monday Dec. 4, 2023 sounded the alarm for hundreds of Rohingya Muslims believed to be aboard two boats reported to be out of supplies and adrift on the Andaman Sea. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah, File)

BANGKOK (AP) — The UN refugee agency on Monday sounded the alarm for about 400 Rohingya Muslims believed to be aboard two boats reported to be out of supplies and adrift in the Andaman Sea.

Laos Grants Amnesty to 1,824 Prisoners on Lao National Day

General Vilay Lakhamfong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security (Photo: Vientiane Mai)

The Lao government has granted amnesty to a total of 1,824 prisoners, including 238 females and 16 foreign nationals, as announced by General Vilay Lakhamfong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security.

Lao Traditional Naga Motif Weaving, Thailand’s Songkran Festival Inscribed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Weaving a Naga design, Laos. (Photo: Lao Handicraft Association, 2018)

Laos has once again secured a spot on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. This time for its traditional weaving of the Naga motif.

HKBU-led research develops novel drug delivery system for Gouteng compound for Alzheimer’s disease treatment


HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 December 2023 – A research team led by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has developed a novel drug delivery system for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The researchers have engineered exosomes, extracellular vesicles released by cells, to effectively carry the bioactive compound Corynoxine-B extracted from the Chinese herbal medicine Gouteng to the brain of mice with AD. As Corynoxine-B can induce autophagy, a process that maintains the health of cells, this new drug delivery system using exosomes can improve cognitive function and movement while reducing the symptoms of AD.

The research findings have been published in the international academic journal Nature-Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.

Bioactive compound of Gouteng can treat AD

AD is the most common type of dementia in which the brain cells degenerate and die, characterised by a build-up of amyloid-beta and phospho-tau protein in the brain, resulting in the decline of the brain’s cognitive functions. Currently more than 55 million people worldwide are dementia patients. In Hong Kong more than 100,000 elderly suffer from dementia and the number is anticipated to soar to more than 330,000 by 2039.

At present there is no curative treatment for AD. Available treatments can only delay the disease’s progression and improve symptoms. HKBU’s previous research projects found that Corynoxine-B, a bioactive compound of Gouteng, is effective in treating AD. However, the blood-brain barrier which protects the brain from potentially harmful substances in the bloodstream affects its uptake in brain.

Exosomes serve as drug carriers

To tackle this problem, a research team comprising Professor Li Min, Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) of Chinese Medicine, and Dr Ashok Iyaswamy, Research Assistant Professor of the Teaching and Research Division at the School of Chinese Medicine at HKBU, along with other local, mainland and overseas scientists, have developed a novel approach to deliver Corynoxine-B to the brain using exosomes.

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles released by cells which can transport molecules between cells like nanocarriers. Recent studies have shown that they could be utilised as vehicles for drug delivery. To examine whether exosomes are effective drug carriers for AD, the researchers manipulated the neuronal cells in mice to overexpress an adaptor protein Fe65 on the surface of exosomes released by these cells. Fe65 is involved in the processing of amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP), which plays a crucial role in the development of AD.

By doing so, they observed more exosomes containing Fe65 were released by the neuronal cells. These engineered exosomes showed a good ability to migrate towards the neuronal cells with APP overexpressed in AD models. These findings suggest that the presence of Fe65 on the surface of exosomes enhanced their ability to specifically target and interact with the neuronal cells with elevated levels of APP, which is a characteristic feature of AD.

Reduction of accumulated amyloid-beta protein

Corynoxine-B is a natural inducer of autophagy which plays a crucial role in maintaining neuronal health. The research team loaded it into the engineered exosomes and injected it to the mice with AD to evaluate its potential as a therapeutic agent for the disease. Results show that engineered exosomes loaded with Corynoxine-B could enhance autophagy in mice, and were able to cross the blood-brain barrier to deliver Corynoxine-B to the brain, resulting in a 30% reduction of accumulated amyloid-beta protein.

In addition, various behavioural tests including the rotarod test, open field test, contextual fear conditioning test, and Morris’s water maze test conducted on mice with AD showed that the application of engineered exosomes loaded with Corynoxine-B resulted in 25% recovery of the cognitive and locomotor behaviour.

Professor Li Min said: “Our study suggests that exosomes could be a promising new way to deliver drugs to the brain and treat AD. More research is needed, but this study provides hope that a cure for AD may be possible in the future. We hope that this research project will ultimately be beneficial to the elderly, individuals at high risk of neurodegeneration and neurodegenerative disease patients.”

Hashtag: #Alzheimer’sdisease

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Laos Prepares to Take the Helm of ASEAN Amidst Ongoing Myanmar Crisis

Concerns Mount Over Laos' Leadership of ASEAN Amid Ongoing Myanmar Crisis
Indonesian President Joko Widodo hands over the ASEAN chairmanship to the Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (photo credit: The Diplomat)

In less than a month, Laos is set to assume the ASEAN chairmanship for 2024, succeeding Indonesia. But experts shared concerns over the nation’s ability to lead the region, as the unresolved crisis in Myanmar remains a significant challenge across the region.

Xaysomboun Greenlights Tourism Project for Pha Ka Tai Hill

Mountain in Anouvong district in Xaysomboun Province (Photo: Laos Pictures)

In a move set to boost tourism in Xaysomboun Province, local authorities have approved a USD 50 million project aimed at enhancing tourist facilities at Pha Ka Tai Hill in Phasangob village, Anouvong district.