I can extract side effects.

Chapter 245 The Antidote to Thalassemia
Sitting in the living room of the presidential suite, Prince Salman suddenly lost his appetite as he watched the meal prepared by the nutritionist in front of him.

It was a pan-fried foie gras with spinach, rich in iron content, suitable for anemic patients 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 exudes a tempting aroma. Salman skillfully cut off a small piece, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed with difficulty, only to feel the taste like chewing wax.

He couldn't help but asked with a look of disgust: "Damn, why is this food so unpalatable, can I replace it with the dish I ate last time? It seems to be called Maoxuewang, a blood-red pot, it is an oriental blood-enriching dish The dishes are very delicious.”

The private doctor stood aside and shook his head expressionlessly: "Your Highness, it is not recommended to eat spicy food, it will irritate the stomach and is not good for the body."

Salman looked hopeless, and asked as he ate, "How far has Mr. Wei's genetic medicine been developed?"

"I've been here for a month, why haven't I heard any good news?"

The doctor looked at him helplessly: "Your Highness, no matter how powerful the Sanqing Group is, it is impossible to develop a brand new gene drug in a month."

Salman stared at him: "Is it because I didn't give enough money? How about I add another 5000 million dollars?"

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 unwilling. Since there is hope for a cure, he must leave enough money to enjoy it. Otherwise, if the person is alive and the money is gone, what is the use?

The doctor reassured him patiently: "It has nothing to do with money. Drug development just takes a long time. I suggest you wait patiently, at least three months before there is any further news."

Salman was very irritable, and the feeling of waiting was not good. 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. Last time they collected my genetic samples and said they wanted to detect the 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 medicine for thalassemia is going? How is the progress?"

"Really? The mutated gene site of His Royal Highness has been located, and now the CRISPR-CAS9 reagent is being configured for gene editing. It is expected that the cell experiment will be completed next month, and then clinical trials will begin. Great!"

"Hehe, we are not in a hurry. Take your time. Okay, you must be busy with work, so don't bother me. I hope to hear good news from you 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 more common.

There are more than 100 α-type disease-causing genes and more than 300 β-type disease-causing genes that have been identified in the world. Therefore, each patient must undergo gene sequencing before treatment to identify the mutated or missing gene.

Prince Salman is a type β patient. His cause of disease is caused by a point mutation of the β globin gene. It is necessary to locate the mutated gene in order to tailor the gene drug according to the specific situation.

After confirming the mutated gene, the CRISPR-CAS9 reagent can be used to cut out the mutated gene, and then insert the normal gene fragment. After that, hematopoietic stem cells should be used for cell experiments, and the treatment can only be started after confirming that it is correct.

At that time, hematopoietic stem cells will need to be isolated from his body, and then gene editing will be carried out at specific gene sites in the hematopoietic stem cells, and then the gene-edited hematopoietic stem cells will be injected into the bone marrow, and gradually converted into normal hemoglobin, so as to achieve the therapeutic effect.

Because it is an autologous bone marrow transplant, there is no rejection, and the complications are very mild. Generally, there will be no obvious infection, bleeding, and graft-versus-host disease.

So the most difficult thing is the genetic medicine, as long as it is developed, the follow-up treatment is still quite sure.

After hearing the progress, Salman felt a little relieved and less anxious.

The foie gras in the mouth seems to be delicious again, and it tastes delicious.

Next, he can only call to greet each week and ask about the latest progress.

Other than that, nothing can be done.

Anyway, 1000 million US dollars has already been transferred to the account of Sanqing, so I can only believe that the other party will go all out and wait quietly like a chicken.

However, this tens of millions of dollars is not a treatment fee, but a payment in the name of a sponsorship fee.

After another month, Prince Salman finally got the good news.

"The gene medicine has been successfully developed, and the cell experiment is perfect, and it has reached the point of clinical application, so we can come here for treatment."

When Prince Salman received the call, he almost jumped up with excitement.

He quickly came to Sanqing's designated cooperative hospital for treatment.

In the treatment room, lying in bed, he underwent a bone marrow aspiration, which then isolated the blood stem cells in his body.

These hematopoietic stem cells will be injected with genetic medicine, and then reinfused back into his body after the gene editing is confirmed to be successful.

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 to the normal range.

If you want to continue to maintain it, you will have a second treatment.

However, the second treatment only requires an intrathecal injection, which injects the gene 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 hospital, completing 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 was lying on the spacious big bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

I don't know if it's a psychological effect or some other reason, but he seems to feel that the blood cells in his body are being regenerated rapidly, and then they are continuously transported to all parts of the body.

"Wonder drug, I don't seem to feel so weak anymore."

Salman stood up straight from the bed and walked quickly around the room.

"My dizziness seems to be gone, and I don't have much breath when I walk so fast. I have already felt suffocated before."

He couldn't help being surprised and delighted and said, "It's taking effect 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, I just finished the treatment. Vigorous exercise is not recommended. You are too hasty. After a few days, the body will no longer lack oxygen, and the immunity will improve a little. It is not too late to go to exercise again."

Salman nodded without any displeasure: "I'm too impatient, but I do feel that it's working. I'm exhausted now. I just want to find a place to vent."

Three days later, Prince Salman came to the hotel's swimming pool to enjoy his favorite sport.

Due to the doctor's strong advice, he gave up strenuous exercise such as running and playing ball, and chose a gentler swimming.

Half an hour later, he came out of the water exhausted, lying 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's not like before. After swimming for less than 10 minutes, I started to feel guilty and short of breath, and I had to go ashore out of breath.

When he was young, he had an accident in the swimming pool.

I was so happy at that time. After swimming for a long time, I suddenly started to feel weak all over, my legs cramped, and then my body sank directly. If it wasn’t for someone on the shore watching and immediately rescued me, I would have drowned in the water.

Now, he can swim as long as he wants, and he is no longer afraid of accidents in the pool.

Feeling this healthy body that he had never had before, he was extremely happy in his heart.

"This 1000 million dollars is the price of health, it's too fucking worth it!"

Swimming was exhausting. Before he was finished, he heard the sound of his stomach rumbling. It turned out that he was hungry.

Sitting in the room, eating delicacies from mountains and seas, no longer need to control diet.

This feeling is simply refreshing.

By the way, it should be accompanied by a bottle of delicious red wine to enjoy the feeling of being drunk.

In the past, he didn't dare to drink at all, for fear of increasing the burden on his heart, which would cause chest tightness and panic.

Now, he drank a bottle in one breath, and his vision began to blur without any discomfort.

"Ah, the feeling of being healthy is so good. This is the greatest wealth that 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 gene medicine and completely cured his thalassemia.

Keep watching and come back in two months for a second treatment.

After half a year, if he is still healthy, it proves that the hematopoietic stem cells in his body have recovered and can produce normal hemoglobin, and there is no need for genetic drug injections in the future.

Prince Salman was very excited. He has been in China for two months and he can't wait to go back and tell his family and friends the good news in person.

That night, he chartered a flight back home overnight with his mighty entourage.

His return to fitness has certainly created a storm in the desert peninsula.

Crown Prince Mohammad even excitedly released the news to spread the word to the world.

There is a cure for thalassemia!
This news centered on the desert country, quickly spread to all directions, and soon spread throughout the entire Mediterranean Sea.

The most exciting is the rich and powerful of these countries.

Many of them have familial thalassemia. Even the famous tennis god Sampras and footballer Zidane had mild thalassemia. It can be seen that this disease is never seen in Mediterranean countries. Rare, but there is a difference in severity.

As long as most rich people are not seriously ill, they can still live to old age in good health, but who would dislike themselves for being too healthy.

Right now, since there is an opportunity for a complete cure, no one wants to let it go.

Even if I am a mild or even asymptomatic patient, since it is a familial genetic disease, it is difficult to say to the next generation.

If the next generation has a critically ill patient, it must have been considered terminally ill in the past and would not live past the age of five. Now, wouldn't there be a chance of being cured?

Countless eyes turned to the far east, where there was the antidote they needed.

The expressions of many people became eager to try.

At the same time, Sanqing also announced the successful development of a genetic drug for thalassemia.

In an instant, it caused a sensation in the country.

It should be known 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 monogenic genetic disease with the widest distribution and the largest cumulative population in the world.

In my country's southern coastal areas such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces, the carrier rate of the thalassemia gene has reached about 10%, and almost one person in every ten people is a carrier of the thalassemia gene. There are often two individuals with mild thalassemia, and the incidence rate is very high.

According to statistics, there are currently 3000 million carriers of the thalassemia gene in my country, and 2 patients with severe thalassemia.

There is no cure for this disease, blood transfusion is necessary for life, and Novartis' iron-removing agent 'Desfin' must be injected.

These two expenditures cost about 2 to 2 yuan a year, and will also lead to long-term low immunity and easy infection of other diseases.

In short, not only does the person spend a lot of money every year and suffer from illnesses all the year round, but the next generation is also very likely to suffer from illness.

If you want to be cured, you need to replace the bone marrow. It is very difficult to find a matching bone marrow, and the medical expenses alone need 60 million.

As soon as the news of Sanqing came out, it attracted the attention of patients across the country.

In Hong Kong, well-known actor Chen Yong saw this news while checking the Internet news.

He was overjoyed immediately, and shouted repeatedly: "My wife, come and watch the news, my illness is cured."

As an entertainer who has debuted for many years, although he has not been very popular, he is still quite popular. He has acted in many best-selling film and television dramas, which can be said to be rich.

However, his childhood was very rough. His parents divorced when he was five years old, and he suffered from thalassemia since he was a child. He had to go to the hospital for blood transfusions every month. Moreover, the doctor pointed out that his physique is not suitable for having children because the genetic probability is very high.

Because of this, he had been regretted by his ex-girlfriend before. At that time, the two had been dating for six years. He also prepared an engagement ring and booked a banquet, but the marriage was regretted at the door. This made him very painful, and his whole body collapsed instantly.

Later, it was not easy to recover, and found a new girlfriend, and got married recently.

He is already 38, and after finally getting married, the first thing to consider next is naturally having a child.

So thalassemia became a serious problem 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 young pregnant women, so the two have never made up their minds to have children.

His wife did not dislike him, but was very optimistic, thinking that the current medical level is very high, and having this disease does not mean that he will be finished for a lifetime, and he will be cured sooner or later.

For this, he naturally feels guilty secretly, and has always had an impulse in his heart, wanting to have the crystallization of love between the two, even if the child is really a thalassemia patient, as long as it is not seriously ill, he must be born and raised with love.

So, after seeing the news that thalassemia patients can be completely cured.

His first reaction was that he could finally have a baby.

Even if the child is the same as myself, it can be cured, and there is no need to worry about suffering anymore.

(End of this chapter)