Prince Mahidol Awards honour 3 outstanding scientists

Professor Sergio Henrique Ferreira, Department of Pharmacology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

The Prince Mahidol Award 2008 in the field of medicine was conferred upon Professor Sergio Henrique Ferreira, Department of Pharmacology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; and the Prince Mahidol Award 2008 in public health was awarded jointly to Professor Michiaki Takahashi, Osaka University, Japan, and Professor Yu Yongxin, Director Emeritus, National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, People's Republic of China.

The selection is held annually by the Prince Mahidol Foundation chaired by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The winners were among 49 nominees from 19 countries.

The Prince Mahidol Award Foundation under the Royal Patronage was established on January 1, 1992, to commemorate the centenary of the birth of His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla,.

The Foundation confers two Prince Mahidol Awards annually upon individuals or institutions who have demonstrated outstanding and exemplary contributions to the advancement of the world's medical and public health services.

This year's awards, including a medal, a certificate and a sum of Bt1.5 million, will be bestowed on the three doctors by Their Majesties the King and Queen at a ceremony in the Chakri Throne hall at the Grand Palace on January 28, 2009.

Prior to the ceremony, Siriraj Hospital- as a founder of the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation - will invite the 2008 Prince Mahidol Awardees to give lectures on their achievements.

In the past 16 years, 48 individuals, groups of individuals, and institutions have received the Prince Mahidol Award. Two subsequently received Nobel Prizes in Physiology and Medicine - Professor Dr. Barry James Marshall and Professor Dr. Harald zur Hausen.

This year's cowinner, Professor Ferreira, discovered the Bradykinin Potentiating Factor (BPF) which is a peptide [linked amino acids] found in the venom of a Brazilian snake.

His discovery paved the way for the development of a new class of antihypertensive drugs, the angiotensin converting enzymes inhibitors (ACEI), the first of which is the drug called captopril.

The drug was widely recognized for its antihypertensive efficacy, especially in diabetic patients with inflammatory and kidney diseases. It greatly helped reduce the number of patients dying from congestive heart failure.

Professor Ferreira also discovered the mechanism in which nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) work and studied a basic mechanism involving the inflammatory hyperalgesia. His study led to the development of a selected class of analgesics, particularly the COX 2 inhibitor, considered to be a remarkable advance for all NSAIDs.

Professor Ferreira's contributions to science have been recognized worldwide. The ACEI and Cox2 inhibitors are among the most widely used to relieve pain and inflammatory conditions, saving the lives of millions of patients around the world.

Professor Takahashi developed a vaccine isolated from the vesicles of a typical case of chicken pox in a 3yearold Japanese boy. Named Oka after the boy, the vaccine was developed to prevent chicken pox in a process strictly adhered to the standard of the World Health Organisation.

The vaccine was widely accepted and used extensively in Japan, Korea, USA, France, as well as Thailand. People who receive this vaccine develop chicken pox with less fever and no scars, and they will recover more quickly.

As they grow older, children who have received the vaccination will experience less severe cases of herpes zoster than those who did not receive vaccination. In adults over 60, the vaccine is shown to prevent the development of herpes zoster, as well as to reduce its side conditions and to limit spread of the disease.

Chicken pox or varicella is caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV) placed within the same group as herpes viruses. The symptoms of the disease comprise fever, headache, being bored with food, and skin rashes.

The disease is found in all regions of the world, often in children younger than 6. In general, it has no serious consequence but transmits easily. Rare side conditions of the disease include the inflammation of the brain and lung. In general, the conditions are more serious in adults who take longer to recover.

Professor Takahashi's discovery of the varicella vaccine led to worldwide use of the vaccine to prevent chicken pox. The vaccine helps relieve blood and mental pain in patients as well as reduce the death rate among chicken pox patients, particularly millions of children from all over the world. 

Professor Yu Yongxin had spent nearly three decades in deriving an SA14142 Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine from the kidney cells of hamsters. Tested in experimental animals and then human subjects, the vaccine is widely regarded as the most effective and safest in preventing encephalitis in children.

Since 1988, the vaccine has been distributed to over 200 million children in China and to millions more in India, Korea, Sri Lanka, Nepal, as well as Thailand, greatly helping to reduce the spread of encephalitis in Asia.

JE encephalitis is the most important disease in the group of encephalitis diseases caused by viruses carried by insects. The disease cannot be cured but can be prevented by vaccine.

The disease has been found in Asia, particularly in India, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and China. It reached epidemic proportions in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, but is currently under control.

Normally, patients with JE encephalitis show no symptoms. What is found are brainrelated symptoms including the inflammation of the brain and membranes enveloping the brain, often resulting in a patient's death or disability.

Since the vaccine was placed in the list of primary vaccines by the Ministry of Public Health following its immunity promotion plan, JE encephalitis has all but disappeared in Thailand.

Professor Yu's research and development of JE encephalitis vaccine has contributed to the prevention of diseases with no cure. His efforts helped ensure millions of patients in Asia would avoid death and disability resulting from the disease.