Day: August 25, 2021

KUALA LUMPUR— Malaysia’s National Heart Institute (IJN) became the first hospital in Asia to succeed in performing a new innovative heart valve treatment for patients suffering from tricuspid regurgitation or leaky heart valves.

 

IJN in a statement said the procedure was carried out on May 6 by its Heart Failure and Heart Transplant team and Cardiology Department.

 

The treatment called Tricvalve Transcatheter Bicaval Valves system (Bioprosthesis) or Tricvalve is a minimally invasive procedure that involves using a dry valve preloaded delivery system, said the statement.

 

“The Tricvalve system is specifically developed for patients who suffer from tricuspid valve regurgitation, particularly those who are unable to control their symptoms through other treatments and are deemed too high-risk for surgery,” said IJN.

 

The statement said the breakthrough device designated for Tricvalve and the bioprosthesis is used for patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (leaky valves) with a high risk for open-heart surgery.

 

Tricuspid valve regurgitation is a condition where the leaflets of the tricuspid valve are unable to close properly, causing backflow of blood (or regurgitation) into the heart’s upper right chamber and in severe cases into the cava which if untreated, the condition can lead to heart failure, said IJN.

 

“Patients may experience symptoms such as fatigue, abnormal heart rhythms, shortness of breath, and swelling in the legs and abdomen. However, these signs often do not develop until the condition becomes severe,” said the statement.

 

IJN’s Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Consultant Cardiologist Clinical Director Dr Azmee Mohd Ghazi said not all patients are able to withstand the risks of surgery or may have other conditions that make them unsuitable for certain procedures.

 

“For such cases, it is important that we are able to offer a new innovative treatment like Tricvalve️ to help more patients alleviate their symptoms and improve their quality of life,” he said.

 

Meanwhile IJN’s Chief Clinical Officer and Senior Consultant Cardiologist Dr Aizai Azan Abdul Rahim expressed his gratitude to the IJN team for seeking out newer and more innovative methods of treatment.

 

“It’s no secret that IJN’s success has been built on the willingness of its staff to keep learning, exploring for new innovative treatments that can enhance patients’ quality of life, and pushing the boundaries to be able to treat more patients who are deemed unsuitable for surgeries,” he said.

 

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

BANGKOK— Thailand’s home-grown messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine called ChulaCov19 is expected to be available by the end of this year or early next year.

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ deputy spokesman Natapanu Nopakun said the vaccine candidate, developed by Chulalongkorn University, is at the third phase of clinical trials and has made significant progress.

 

“If proven successful, Thailand could possibly be first in ASEAN to produce COVID-19 vaccine.

 

“The (Chulalongkorn University) research team is hoping that by the end of this year or early next year, the country will be able to start producing its own doses of an effective vaccine,” he said at the COVID-19 daily briefing here Wednesday.

 

ChulaCov19 was designed and developed by a team of Thai researchers working collaboratively with Pennsylvania University’s Professor Drew Weissman, a renowned physician-scientist.

 

Besides ChulaCov19, Thailand is set to start human trials on its homegrown plant-based COVID-19 vaccine next month (September) and is expected to be ready next year. The sub-unit vaccine is developed by Chulalongkorn University’s Vaccine Research Centre and Baiya Phytopharm Co. Ltd. (Baiya Phytopharm).

 

Meanwhile, Thailand’s COVID-19 death toll has breached the 10,000 mark today as 297 people succumbed to the virus over the last 24 hours.

 

To date, a total of 10,085 people lost their lives to COVID-19 since the pandemic started in January last year.

 

Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) assistant spokesperson Dr Apisamai Srirangsan said the new fatalities involved 151 men and 146 women aged between 17 and 104 years old, including five Myanmar nationals and one Chinese.

 

“The fatality rate in Thailand stood at 0.91 per cent now,” she said.

 

Over the last 24 hours, Thailand recorded 18,417 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the kingdom to 1,102,368.

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK