Prince Salman was sitting in the living room of the presidential suite, looking at the meal prepared by the nutritionist in front of him, and suddenly lost his appetite.
It was a pan-fried foie gras with spinach, which was rich in iron and suitable for an anemic patient like him.
But Salman is quite tired of eating nutritious meals every day. He would rather take more oral iron and folic acid.
The foie gras exuded an alluring aroma. Salman skillfully cut off a small piece, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it hard, and found it tasted like wax.
He couldn't help but asked with a look of disgust: "Damn it, why is this food so unpalatable? Can I change it to the dish I ate last time? It seems to be called Maoxuewang, a blood-red pot. It is an oriental blood-tonifying dish. The food is very delicious.”
The personal doctor stood aside and shook his head expressionlessly: "Your Highness, it is not recommended to eat spicy food. It will irritate the gastrointestinal tract and is not good for the body."
Salman had a look of despair on his face. While eating, he asked, "How far is Mr. Wei's genetic drug development?"
"I've been here for a month, why haven't I heard the good news yet?"
The doctor looked at him helplessly: "Your Highness, no matter how powerful Sanqing Group is, it is impossible to develop a brand new genetic drug in a month."
Salman stared at him and said, "Did I give you not enough money? How about I add another $50 million?"
In order to survive, he is willing to pay even half of his wealth.
But if he wants to give it all away, he is definitely not willing to give it away. Since there is hope for a cure, he must leave enough money to enjoy it. Otherwise, if the money is gone while the person is alive, what's the use?
The doctor patiently reassured him: "This has nothing to do with money. Drug research and development takes a long time. It is recommended that you wait patiently, at least three months before there is any further news."
Salman was in a very irritable mood. This feeling of waiting was uncomfortable. He felt that he should call every day to keep an eye on the progress of Sanqing's research and development.
"Contact Sanqing's genetic laboratory again. They collected my genetic samples last time and said they wanted to detect disease-causing gene fragments. Ask them about their latest progress!"
The doctor took out his mobile phone: "Hello, Dr. Jiang? His Royal Highness would like to ask how the development of genetic drugs for thalassemia is going? How is the progress?"
"Really? The mutation gene site of His Royal Highness has been located, and the CRISPR-Cas9 reagent is now being configured for gene editing. It is expected to complete the cell experiment next month and then start clinical trials. Great!"
"Haha, we are not in a hurry. Please take your time. Okay, you must be very busy at work, so I won't bother you. I hope to hear your good news as soon as possible."
The doctor ended the call and reported respectfully.
There are 4 types of thalassemia: α, β, γ and δ, among which β and α thalassemia are the more common.
There are more than 100 α-type pathogenic genes and more than 300 β-type pathogenic genes that have been identified in the world. Therefore, every patient must undergo gene sequencing before treatment to identify the mutated or missing genes.
Prince Salman is a beta-type patient. His disease is caused by a point mutation in the beta-globin gene. It is necessary to locate the mutated gene in order to tailor genetic drugs according to the specific situation.
After the mutated gene is identified, the CRISPR-Cas9 reagent can be used to cut out the mutated gene, and then insert the normal gene fragment. Afterwards, hematopoietic stem cells must be used for cell experiments, and treatment can only begin after confirmation.
At that time, hematopoietic stem cells need to be isolated from his body, and then gene editing is performed at specific gene sites in the hematopoietic stem cells. The gene-edited hematopoietic stem cells are then injected into the bone marrow and gradually converted into normal hemoglobin to achieve the therapeutic effect.
Since it is an autologous bone marrow transplant, there is no rejection reaction, and complications are very mild. There are generally no obvious infections, bleeding, and graft-versus-host disease.
So the most difficult thing is genetic drugs. As long as they are developed, subsequent treatments are quite certain.
After hearing the progress, Salman felt a little more relaxed and less anxious.
The foie gras in the mouth seems to be delicious again, and it tastes delicious.
Next, he can only call every week to check in and ask about the latest progress.
Other than that, there's not much that can be done.
Anyway, the US$10 million has already been transferred to Sanqing's account. I can only believe that the other party will go all out and wait as quietly as a chicken.
However, this tens of millions of dollars is not a treatment fee, but is paid in the name of sponsorship fee.
Another month passed, and Prince Salman finally got the good news.
"Gene medicine has been successfully developed, and the cell experiments are perfect. It has reached the point of clinical application and can be treated."
When Prince Salman received the call, he almost jumped with excitement.
He quickly came to the designated cooperative hospital in Sanqing for treatment.
In the treatment room, while lying on the bed, he underwent a bone marrow aspiration and then isolated the hematopoietic stem cells in his body.
These hematopoietic stem cells will be injected with genetic drugs, and after the gene editing is confirmed to be successful, they will be infused back into his body.
This is the first treatment, and it will be a little troublesome. The injected hematopoietic stem cells will continuously produce normal hemoglobin, gradually bringing his own hemoglobin level back to the normal range.
If you want to continue, you will need a second treatment.
However, the second treatment only requires intrathecal injection to inject the genetic drug into the bone marrow.
After another six months to one year of observation, if the hemoglobin in his body remains at a normal level, it will prove that the disease has been completely cured.
Salman spent three days in the hospital and completed his first treatment.
Since he was under the care of a private doctor, he then left the hospital and returned to the familiar presidential suite.
He lay on the spacious bed and stared at the ceiling in a daze.
He didn't know if it was a psychological effect or some other reason, but he seemed to be able to feel the blood cells in his body being regenerated rapidly, and then being continuously transported to all parts of the body.
"Wonderful medicine, I seem to feel less weak."
Salman suddenly sat up from the bed and walked quickly around the room.
"My dizziness seems to be gone. I can't even breathe when I walk so fast. I would have felt suffocated before."
He couldn't help but said with surprise and joy: "It's effective so quickly?"
"I'm going to the gym to exercise and see how it works."
The doctor immediately stepped forward and stopped him from walking towards the door.
"Your Highness, we have just completed the treatment. It is not recommended to exercise strenuously. You are acting too hastily. After a few days, your body will no longer be deprived of oxygen and your immunity will be improved. It will not be too late to exercise again."
Salman nodded without any displeasure: "I'm too impatient, but I do feel it's working. I have endless energy now, and I just want to find a place to vent."
Three days later, Prince Salman came to the hotel swimming pool and started his favorite sport.
Due to the strong advice of his doctor, he gave up strenuous activities such as running and playing basketball, and chose gentler swimming.
Half an hour later, he came out of the water exhausted and lay on the chair next to him, feeling physically and mentally comfortable.
Although I was very tired, I didn't feel any discomfort, no dizziness, no fatigue, and no feeling of being out of breath.
It was nothing like before. After swimming for less than ten minutes, I started to feel short of breath and had to go ashore panting.
When he was young, he had an accident in a swimming pool.
I was so happy at the time that I swam for a long time, so I suddenly started to feel weak all over, my legs cramped, and then my body sank directly. If someone on the shore hadn't watched and rescued me immediately, I would have drowned in the water.
Now, he can swim for as long as he wants without fear of anything happening in the pool.
Feeling this healthy body that he had never had before, he was extremely happy.
"These ten million dollars are the price of health. It's so damn worth it!"
Swimming consumes physical energy. Before he was happy, he heard the sound of his stomach growling. It turned out that he was hungry.
Sitting in the room, eating delicacies from the mountains and seas, there is no need to control your diet anymore.
This feeling is simply wonderful.
By the way, pair it with a bottle of delicious red wine to enjoy the drunken feeling.
In the past, he would not have dared to drink at all, for fear of increasing the burden on his heart and causing chest tightness and panic.
Now, when he drinks one bottle in one go, his vision becomes blurry without any discomfort.
"Ah, the feeling of health is so wonderful. This is the greatest wealth God has given us. I finally understand this."
Salman muttered to himself, tilted his head, and fell drunk on the dining table.
A week later, Salman went to the hospital again for a check-up.
The hemoglobin level in his body is no different from that of normal people.
This is enough to prove the success of genetic medicine and completely cured his thalassemia.
Next, you need to keep under observation and come back for the second treatment after two months.
If he is still healthy after half a year, it will prove that the hematopoietic stem cells in his body have returned to health and can produce normal hemoglobin, and he will no longer need to inject genetic drugs in the future.
Prince Salman was very excited. He had been in China for two months and couldn't wait to go back and tell his family and friends the good news in person.
That night, he took a huge entourage and chartered an overnight flight back to China.
His return to fitness has certainly taken the Desert Peninsula by storm.
Crown Prince Mohammed even excitedly announced the news to the world.
There is an antidote for thalassemia!
The news spread rapidly to the surrounding desert country, and soon spread throughout the entire Mediterranean Sea.
The most excited people are the rich and powerful in these countries.
Many of them have familial thalassemia. Even the famous tennis god Sampras and football player Zidane have mild thalassemia. It can be seen that this disease is not common in Mediterranean countries. It is rare, but the severity of the disease varies.
Most wealthy people can still live healthy to old age as long as they are not seriously ill, but who would dislike themselves for being too healthy?
Now, since there is an opportunity to completely cure the disease, no one is willing to let it go.
Even if you are a mild or even asymptomatic patient, since it is a familial genetic disease, it is difficult to say to the next generation.
What if future generations have a seriously ill patient? In the past, it would have been considered a terminal illness and he would not live to be five years old. Now, wouldn’t there be a chance of being cured?
Countless eyes are turning to the distant east, where there is the antidote they need.
The expressions of many people became eager to try.
At the same time, Sanqing also announced the successful development of genetic drugs for thalassemia.
In an instant, it caused a sensation in the country.
You should know that thalassemia is not a disease unique to foreign countries, and there are also a large number of patients in our country.
This is a single-gene genetic disease with the widest distribution and the largest accumulation of people in the world.
In the southern coastal areas of my country such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces, the thalassemia gene carrying rate has reached about 10%. Almost one in every ten people is a thalassemia gene carrier, and among these ten There are often two patients with mild thalassemia among individuals, and the incidence rate is very high.
According to statistics, there are currently 30 million thalassemia gene carriers and 10,000 to 20,000 severe thalassemia patients in my country.
The disease is incurable and requires life-long blood transfusions and injections of Novartis' iron-removing drug 'Desfern'.
These two expenditures cost about 10,000 to 20,000 yuan a year, and will also lead to long-term low immunity and vulnerability to other diseases.
In short, not only do I spend a lot of money every year and endure the pain all year round, but the next generation is also very likely to get sick.
If you want to be cured, you need to replace the bone marrow. It is very difficult to find a matching bone marrow. The medical expenses alone will cost 500,000 to 600,000 yuan. Even if you find a matching bone marrow, you still have to go through the test of rejection, and the chance of final cure is very small.
As soon as the news of Sanqing came out, it attracted the attention of patients across the country.
In Hong Kong, the well-known actor Chen Yong saw this news while browsing online news.
He was immediately overjoyed and shouted repeatedly: "Honey, come and watch the news, my illness is cured."
As an artist who has been around for many years, although he has not become a big hit, he is still quite popular. He has performed in many best-selling film and television dramas, which can be said to be a rich net worth.
However, his childhood was very rough. His parents divorced when he was five years old. He suffered from thalassemia since childhood and had to go to the hospital for blood transfusions every month. The doctor also pointed out that his constitution was not suitable for having children because the genetic risk was very high.
Because of this, his ex-girlfriend had regretted his engagement before. The two had been dating for six years. He had prepared a proposal ring and booked a banquet, but he was rejected at the last minute. This made him very painful and his whole body collapsed instantly.
Later, I finally recovered, found a new girlfriend, and got married recently.
He is already 38, and after finally getting married, the most important thing to consider next is naturally having children.
So thalassemia became a major concern for the couple.
Because my wife is also 36 and is an advanced maternal age, it is very troublesome to do genetic testing during pregnancy, and the risk is much higher than that of younger pregnant women, so the two have never made up their mind to have a child.
His wife did not dislike him, but was very optimistic. She believed that today's medical level is very high, and having this kind of disease does not mean that she will be finished for her life. Sooner or later, she will be treated.
Naturally, he felt secretly guilty about this, and he always had an urge in his heart to have the fruit of their love. Even if the child was really a thalassemia patient, as long as it was not severe, he would still give birth to it, love it and raise it well.
So, after seeing the news that thalassemia patients can be completely cured.
His first reaction was that he could finally have a child.
Even if the child is the same as myself, it can be cured and we no longer have to worry about suffering.
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