top student at medical school

Fang Ziye glanced at Luo Tingzhu and said, "Tingzhu, why don't you and Tianluo go keep Dad company?"

"What I'm dealing with is very important."

Luo Tingzhu is Fang Ziye's wife, and the two had long ago agreed on many secrets that were not known to outsiders.

Everything Fang Ziye is doing now is actually preparing for the research on 'ALS'. ALS is a very difficult topic, even more so than spinal cord injury.

It can only be accumulated step by step; it cannot be achieved in one step.

Luo Pan was her father, so Luo Tingzhu naturally nodded: "Alright, senior brother, thank you for your hard work."

Luo Tingzhu still couldn't change her way of addressing him and continued to call Fang Ziye "Senior Brother".

"Where are you going again?" Liang Xia came out of the kitchen carrying two fruit platters.

“I’m going to the lab… Mom… you guys rest.” Fang Ziye said.

Liang Xia glared at her and said, "What's so great about your lab? You should stay home after you get married."

This is as if to say, "Why don't you stay home and have more babies? When will my grandson be born?"

Luo Tingzhu's face turned red.

Fang Ziye immediately slipped away, saying, "Mom, you can't say that. I'm going to the lab to contribute to the health of all mankind. You need to have a broader perspective."

Liang Xia, of course, didn't stop Fang Ziye; how could she dare to?

Although she was a rural woman, she knew she couldn't help Fang Ziye's business and dared not disturb him, fearing it would ruin her son's future.

She could no longer help Fang Ziye.

“Tingzhu, let me tell you, your father and I are still young, and your parents are young too. If you have a child, we can take care of it. You don’t have to worry about anything…” Liang Xia could only try to persuade Luo Tingzhu.

Although Luo Tingzhu's cheeks were slightly flushed, she was no longer as shy as before now that she was married. She lowered her head and said, "Mom, there's no need to rush things like having a baby..."

……

In the animal laboratory, the first thing Liao Jia and Nie Mingxian did upon seeing Fang Ziye was not to continue their congratulations on his marriage, but to burst into a tirade: "Fang Ziye, are you a product of spinal cord injury cells?"

How could you be so bold as to make such a guess?

"Spinal cord injury is not suitable for treatment in the acute phase; treatment is only possible in the chronic phase."

"At least, microcurrent stimulation is not suitable during the acute phase and may even worsen the patient's condition."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ziye retorted irritably, "What do you mean I was transformed from cells from a spinal cord injury?"

"So, after so many experiments, you've replicated this theory on animal models?"

"Performing microcurrent stimulation during the acute phase of spinal cord injury will only worsen the functional loss caused by the spinal cord injury and will not help the patient's functional recovery in any way?"

Liao Jia nodded: "Yes, at least all the batches of experiments you've done support this result."

“The treatment of spinal cord injury should not be rushed, especially during the acute injury period. The electrical pathways in the gray and white matter are in a disordered state. At this time, microcurrent stimulation may cause information to run wild and damage the nerve synapses below.”

"Until a newer treatment method is developed, the window of opportunity for spinal cord injury treatment has been set. It must be one week after the acute injury, and two weeks later is even better."

"Data for more than a month is not yet available!"

According to traditional logic, early detection and early treatment are key.

Spinal cord injury is the opposite; early detection and delayed treatment are key. Most research teams would take a long time to discover this, but Fang Ziye made a guess in advance based on his knowledge.

Don't underestimate this one sentence; it's just a theory about the timing of treatment, which could take months or even a year and be the result of a research team's comprehensive analysis!

That's a huge step forward!
Understanding a disease involves more than just knowing what treatment to use; it also requires a clear understanding of the indications, contraindications, and timing of treatment.

Early detection and early treatment are essential for most diseases, without exception, but now there are exceptions.

If Fang Ziye hadn't considered this point clearly, and had only focused on developing a treatment for spinal cord injury, it would have been a mistake.

Once the treatment method is mature, medical teams will definitely want to try it on emergency patients. However, they don't have the same level of knowledge as Fang Ziye, so they continue to use microcurrents.

If we pray that the principle of early treatment is followed, and then the patient is electrocuted to the point of irreversible paralysis, and after a long period of trial and error, we conclude that the patient cannot be treated in the emergency period, then some patients will be quite unlucky.

“That’s a valuable statement!” Fang Ziye pursed his lips, then asked Nie Mingxian, “Brother Nie, do you have any ideas on how to rebuild blood supply within the spinal cord?”

The spinal cord also needs blood supply; without it, it will die directly.

If the structure is completely destroyed, what's the point of talking about channels?

Microcurrent stimulation is not suitable during the acute phase, but that does not mean that you cannot do anything during the acute phase!
Whether or not stress reduction should be done, and whether or not revascularization can be performed, are all issues that need to be explored.

Spinal cord injury has two phases: acute and chronic. Fang Ziye felt that the team was capable enough and naturally did not want to focus on only one phase.

With the current team members, tasks can be divided among them.

"We don't have any ideas yet, and my teacher doesn't have any good solutions either. Isn't it better to discuss this together after your wedding leave?"

"At present, we have figured out some routines for the treatment of chronic spinal cord injury."

"But the previous speculation that acute-phase treatment could achieve better results has been refuted."

"Fang Ziye, so now we can open up clinical cases and promote this stage of the procedure in clinical practice."

"Around June, after the fourth batch of animal trials is completed, we can begin large-scale clinical trials!"

"Okay! June it is. The procedures must be completed, even if it's a little late." Fang Ziye nodded.

"You can't gamble. You can gamble on animal models in scientific research, but you can't gamble on patients. At most, we can only make discoveries on patients."

After Fang Ziye finished speaking, he looked at the data collected by Nie Mingxian and Liao Jia and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Therefore, our understanding of spinal cord injury treatment has become even more profound."

"First, patients with chronic, stable disease without complications can undergo surgery directly."

"Second, for patients in the acute phase, microelectrode stimulation therapy is a relative contraindication, and until a better solution is found, it is listed as an absolute contraindication."

"Third, bridging electrodes are a supplementary surgical procedure to continuous stimulation by acupuncture electrodes, and are suitable for patients with spinal cord injuries with multiple or large-area damage."

The reason why it is difficult to develop treatments for new diseases is that every step may be a pitfall, and understanding every small point of knowledge requires a lot of theoretical and experimental verification.

You can't rely on guessing!
After saying that, Nie Mingxian asked, "Are you free today? You have too many friends and brothers, so I couldn't have a good drink with you yesterday. Are you free today?"

Liao Jia immediately started cursing: "No way, Nie Mingxian, you've never been married, don't you have a brain?"

"Ziye got married yesterday. Why don't you invite him over today as a surprise? It would be a nice bonus. Why don't you invite him to drink with you today?"

"Aha?"

Nie Mingxian retorted, mockingly asking, "Is that not allowed?"

"Unlike someone else, who wouldn't even let you drink a drop of wine at their wedding, and instead opted for a destination wedding or a shotgun wedding."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ziye immediately realized that Nie Mingxian was using a veiled insult, implying that he was criticizing Liao Jia for being inhuman and for rushing into marriage.

Liao Jia pointed at Nie Mingxian, unable to utter a single word.

He didn't even have a proper wedding banquet; he just cared about having fun with his wife. Of course, Nie Mingxian could criticize him.

"You two can keep arguing. It's still early, I should be able to make it to lunch."

“We all went to my father-in-law’s house for dinner,” Fang Ziye said.

Liao Jia asked, "Isn't it the third day before the bride goes back to her parents' home? Why did you go today?"

Fang Ziye said, "Hey, fixed customs are fixed, but we also have to be flexible. My father-in-law is planning to go to Enshi to see if Dean Chen Song can use traditional Chinese medicine to slow down the progression of ALS."

"Is it so easy to schedule a meeting with Dean Chen?"

"Oh, okay." Liao Jia nodded.

Although Chen Song attended the wedding, attending a wedding and treating patients are two separate things, and Chen Song is no longer making house calls.

Even when it comes to seeing patients, it requires going through special circumstances.

Chen Song himself has difficulty walking and may need Chen Guangbai and others to conduct other examinations for him, while he will act as a midbrain analyzer.

Chen Song is now experiencing some difficulty with his hands and feet, and his senses have weakened.

Upon hearing this, Nie Mingxian asked in a low voice, "Ziye, do you think that given Dean Chen's current condition, which should be classified as intracranial brain injury, is there any chance he can regain some of his functions by referring to the treatment plan for spinal cord injury?"

Fang Ziye replied, "You should remove the subject of Dean Chen. If it were a patient with intracranial brain injury, then it might be worth considering." "Dean Chen's current symptoms are only functional impairment; are you going to provide him with further optimization treatment?"

"Can patients with spinal cord injuries reach the functional level of Dr. Chen Song after treatment?"

"You want to use former Dean Chen Song as a live 'beauty' experiment?"

Creating a function from scratch is called re-creation.

From having something to getting better, that's called beauty treatment.

You haven't even figured out reconstruction yet, and you're already thinking about getting into beauty treatments? That's taking too big a step and you're likely to mess things up.

……

"Dad, the research I'm doing isn't as mysterious as Tianluo and Tingzhu described. Compared to your previous research, it's like comparing a small fry to a big fish," Fang Ziye replied modestly while drinking tea after arriving at Luo Pan's temporary lodging.

Luo Pan chose to settle in Han City for two reasons.

Firstly, Wuhan is more livable than Henan Province; secondly, Luo Pan's father spent the rest of his life here.

Although he was supposed to return to his roots after death, Luo Pan wasn't too particular about such things. He actually really wanted to see the city where his father spent the rest of his life.

Luo Pan laughed and said, "There are no big or small projects. Don't be fooled by your mysterious appearance. In terms of fundamental physics and applied physics, we still have a big gap with foreign countries."

"Especially in basic physics, the foundation is very weak."

"Our country's research is better than most countries, but it is not first-rate."

"So, after listening to Zhu and Tianlu's descriptions, Xiao Fang, your research is more advanced than ours and closer to the forefront of science."

"We just focus more on practicality." Luo Pan dared not reveal the details of his work for fear of it being leaked, so he was very careful with his words.

Lan Tianluo said, "Senior brother, you don't need to be so modest. Our research group is already quite excellent."

Lan Tianluo seemed eager to show off in front of his father. This was perhaps every boy's dream when he was young, a dream that seems ridiculous in middle age and later in life!
Luo Pan asked, "Are the three of you all core members of the research group?"

"Are you two sure Xiao Fang didn't force you to come along? Or lift you up?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Tingzhu and Lan Tianlu blushed slightly.

His own father was not as easily fooled as Fang Ziye's parents; he knew quite a lot.

“Dad, that also depends on whether my senior brother can lead me and is willing to lead me. If you want to be a screw, you have to be iron first. There are no screws made of mud yet.” Lan Tianluo said very sensibly again.

Luo Pan replied, "That's true. Current technology doesn't allow us to use mud as screws."

"It's good to love what you do."

Lan Tianluo suddenly said, "Dad, you don't think I'm a deserter, do you?"

Luo Pan shook his head: "Everyone has different aspirations, and there is no distinction between high and low, noble and base."

"Things are much better now, with a lot of freedom. We should respect everyone's freedom of choice."

"I only thought you had good talent before, but I didn't expect you to be so talented. You were just one step away from making it, and you were about to fall behind me."

"When I was young, I admired your grandfather. In middle age, I began to doubt my choices. Now, I just want to see you all become more and more free."

Fang Ziye chuckled and said, "Dad, Enshi is a nice place. After you and Aunt Min go there, you don't have to rush back. You can take your time to recuperate."

"We will come to visit you often."

"The main problem is that, at present, modern medicine has no means to suppress the progression of the disease. Otherwise, it would be quite good for you to stay in the Wuhan Sanatorium."

Luo Pan's work is related to the military industry, so he is also eligible to enter the military region's sanatorium, and he is among the group that enjoys special priority.

Fang Ziye did not press Luo Pan about his identity or why the person who had pressured him was so respectful at the wedding, because none of that mattered anymore.

Luo Pan is now just a patient, an older middle-aged man waiting for treatment.

Luo Tingzhu is four years younger than him, only twenty-seven this year! Even though Luo Pan married late, he is not yet of normal retirement age. He only retired because his body could no longer handle it.

"Actually, it's not too bad. It's just inconvenient, but there's nothing particularly painful about it. Compared to my senior, Mr. Deng, I'm much luckier," Luo Pan said.

Luo Pan's ALS has not yet reached a particularly severe stage.

Currently, traditional Chinese medicine methods cannot guarantee that the disease can be slowed down, but according to the basic logic of traditional Chinese medicine, as long as it is a disease, there are ways to "slow down" it!
Fang Ziye had no choice but to give it a try!
Fang Ziye smiled and said, "Isn't the purpose of the seniors' efforts and sacrifices to make the younger generation happier?"

"It's like how Dad, my parents, and I work hard to give us a better life."

"You can expect even more."

Although Fang Ziye is powerless to help now, he is on his way and needs time to save time. He dares not make any promises to Luo Pan.

Aunt Min Limin came out at this moment: "Xiao Fang, eat more fruit, it's good for your health to supplement your vitamins."

"Of course, you definitely know more about medicine than I do."

Fang Ziye stood up and said, "Mom, you should rest for a while too. We're a little full from eating, and we can't eat anymore."

Upon hearing this, Min Limin nodded and sat down before saying, "Xiao Fang, I heard that you are researching spinal cord injuries, right?"

"any progress?"

“I have a friend who isn’t very old. She suffered an injury and now her left leg is completely weak. It seems to be some kind of spinal cord hemisection syndrome, which is also a spinal cord injury. She asked me to inquire about it…”

There are quite a few patients in China who are paralyzed due to spinal cord injury. To be precise, anyone could find several such patients by trying to establish a family relationship.

The main reason is the large population base.

"Not yet. Our department hasn't opened up clinical trials yet. We'll have to wait until June at the latest."

"Our spinal cord injury surgeries scheduled for May are already fully booked."

"Mom, this disease has entered a stable phase and is unlikely to worsen much. Perhaps we should wait a little longer..."

Min Limin is not Luo Tingzhu and Lan Tianluo's biological mother, but she has no children of her own and is now considered their mother. Fang Ziye has long since changed his address to her.

On the contrary, Luo Tingzhu still calls Aunt Min.

"Oh, it's nothing, I was just asking, not asking you to arrange for hospitalization right now or anything."

"If it's not urgent, let's wait a bit longer."

“You guys are really amazing. My friend has some connections. She’s asked around at all the famous hospitals in the world, but she couldn’t find any place that could give her good news…” Min Limin gave Fang Ziye a thumbs up.

From a certain perspective, Fang Ziye did indeed pioneer the treatment of spinal cord injury, and was the first person in this field to do so in his time.

……

The next day.

After watching Luo Pan and Min Limin board the executive car, Fang Ziye and Luo Tingzhu walked back hand in hand.

Luo Tingzhu asked somewhat nervously, "Senior brother, is the period of residency difficult to endure?"

"Tianlu only had a day and a half of vacation. He went back to his department yesterday afternoon. I just called him, and his tone was a bit unpleasant."

Fang Ziye nodded: "During my hospital stay, I'm very busy and tired, so it's impossible to manage my emotions so smoothly."

"It's very difficult for him to get leave; when he's out, someone else has to cover for him..."

Brother Qin Geluo is really unlucky. He helped Fang Ziye before, and now he has to help Lan Tianluo.

This doctor has a very heavy workload.

"Senior, our team has already begun research on the basic principles of peripheral neurodegenerative diseases, and I believe we will make some progress soon."

"Shouldn't this lay some groundwork for early research on my dad's ALS?"

"If the treatment of spinal cord injury can be improved, then ALS, this new disease, is not insurmountable." Luo Tingzhu's tone was serious and rigorous.

She has grown up, firstly for herself, secondly for her father, and thirdly for her own dreams.

The stable cell line for peripheral neuropathy was independently developed by her and Lan Tianluo. Although it relied on the research funding from the sanatorium, it was still impressive that they were able to produce it.

Some things can't be bought with money... (End of Chapter)