I can extract side effects

After another period of time, the patients all ended the clinical trials and were discharged from the hospital one by one.

The first phase of clinical trials, can be described as amazing curative effect, a great success.

Dr. Zheng was sitting at his desk, looking at the first phase of the experiment report, lost in thought.

A bold idea popped up out of nowhere.

Since it stimulates neural stem cells and repairs brain tissue, can this medicine also treat other brain damage diseases?

For example, a vegetable? A terminal illness more familiar than Alzheimer's.

Speaking of vegetative people, people know more about it in movies and TV dramas or novels.

Every now and then, there will be a car accident and become the protagonist and supporting role of a vegetative state. Around this disease, a series of tragic, touching and dramatic events have occurred, thus making this disease widely spread and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Of course, the vegetative people in TV series will often wake up, except for the classic amnesia, there is nothing wrong with it.

But in reality, the chances of vegetative people waking up are very slim.

This disease has now become a worldwide problem.

Generally speaking, there are three typical reasons for patients to become vegetative, namely stroke, hypoxic brain disease and trauma.

Among them, car accidents account for the largest proportion of trauma, and the age of the patients is getting younger. The hope of waking up is actually very low, far less than it is on TV.

Although the medical level has developed rapidly, and many dying patients can be rescued, the current medical level is not developed enough, which turns the patients into vegetative states.

This is an international problem and there is currently no better cure.

And around this question, should we keep saving? Or give up? If you continue to save, how should you save?

All these make ethics, medicine and humanities full of dilemmas and paradoxes.

Many people tend to confuse vegetative state with death. In fact, the standard of death is brain death, and there is a difference between brain death and vegetative state.

Brain death refers to the permanent loss of function of the brain stem or the central nervous system above the brain stem, which is irreversible and permanent, and the patient cannot breathe spontaneously. The standard for declaring death is based on this as the frame of reference.

The brainstem function of the vegetative person is normal, but the coma caused by severe damage to the cerebral cortex or a sudden depression. The patient can breathe and heartbeat autonomously, and also has a brainstem response.

Therefore, in people's eyes, a vegetative person is like falling asleep, but they can't wake up.

It's like falling into a dream that you don't know when you will wake up.

Most of the family members also think so, and they all feel that the vegetative state still has the possibility of waking up. As long as they have the ability, they are not willing to give up.

In fact, vegetative people with traumatic brains have a 50% chance of recovering within three months, 20% at six months, and 10% at six to twelve months.

It is almost impossible to regain consciousness after 12 months, and it will basically be defined as a permanent vegetative state.

As for the possibility of waking up? Indeed, but there is no specific probability, very metaphysical.

Maybe I can wake up tomorrow, maybe I can't wake up for a lifetime.

In fact, some vegetative people often regain consciousness suddenly after being in a coma for more than ten years. After examination, it is found that the brain damage has been repaired automatically.

But most patients can't wait until then.

Because vegetative people need long-term and careful care, the cost of care and treatment is also very high, enough to put many families in trouble.

The cost of ICU treatment for a vegetative person in a tertiary hospital is more than 3,000 yuan per day, nearly 1 million yuan for the first year, and about 100,000 to 200,000 yuan per year when the patient enters the nursing stage, which does not include family members’ missed work Cost and Nutrients.

Even the social institutions that support vegetative people charge a lot. For vegetative people caused by trauma such as car accidents, if there is a third-party payment, such as vegetative people caused by car accidents, the monthly fee is 15,000 yuan; 7500 yuan.

For many families, this is a heavy burden, and they cannot afford to go bankrupt.

Elderly patients with dementia can be taken home to take care of them anyway, and the economic pressure is not so great, but all vegetative people need professional nursing staff, and economic problems cannot be avoided.

After a long time, the family members can hardly afford it, so they can only give up completely.

It is generally believed internationally that the survival period of a vegetative person is only 1-2 years, but in China it will be longer.

There is euthanasia in foreign countries, but it is not allowed in China, but doctors can choose active treatment or passive treatment, and family members can also sign to refuse "intubation, medication, examination and rescue". This is actually just another way.

Dr. Zheng has encountered many such patients and knows very well how difficult it is to survive in a vegetative state.

In the past, he chose passive treatment countless times, and handed over the consent form of refusal to rescue, and then watched the patient's life disappear before his eyes.

For any medical staff whose mission is to save lives, it will be a huge shock, smash and reshape their outlook on life.

After a long time, no matter how passionate people are, they will become numb.

Dr. Zheng walked out of the office and came to the corridor. He lit a cigarette, blew a smoke ring skillfully towards the window, and then heaved a long sigh.

For more than ten years, I thought my nerves were as hard as iron, but after seeing the miraculous curative effect of Sanqing's brain regeneration medicine, I felt a wave of turmoil in my heart.

He paced back and forth, hesitated for a while, and then took his mobile phone and made a call.

"Hello, old Xiang? It's me. There's something I want to tell you. You should be interested."

"Sanqing Pharmaceutical has released a new drug that can activate nerve regeneration and repair brain tissue. The clinical experiment was conducted in our department. The effect is very good, which is simply shocking."

"Originally, the treatment disease of this drug is Alzheimer's disease, but seeing the effect is so good, I think maybe it can be given to vegetative patients as well."

"Anyway, the brain is severely damaged. Maybe a dead horse can be used as a living horse doctor. Maybe there will be a miracle."

When Xiang Yong heard it, he was very excited: "Is this true? Great. The patients in our center are finally saved."

"There are a lot of patients in your nursing center. I can explain the situation to Sanqing Group. First, give it to the patients for a few weeks and try to see the effect. If it works, join the second clinical trial. If it is not obvious, then forget it. .”

Dr. Zheng thought about it carefully and said.

In order to obtain satisfactory experimental data as soon as possible, pharmaceutical companies generally only apply for one indication, so as to achieve the goal of listing as soon as possible.

Of course, after the drug is on the market, if doctors find that it is possible to treat other diseases during treatment, they can also use it.

Therefore, Dr. Zheng intends to see the effect of this new drug on the treatment of vegetative people first. If the effect is average, then there is no need to include it in the clinical report, lest the data be unsightly and delay the approval progress.

When it is on the market, it will be prescribed to patients as an auxiliary drug to relieve the disease.

"No problem, I'll make preparations here first, and after discussing with the family members, I will send you the patient's information." Xiang Yong agreed in one breath.

As the owner of a vegetative care center, he has been waiting for this day for a long time.

He is a college classmate of Dr. Zheng, and also an excellent neurosurgery attending physician. He has a decent job and a good salary.

However, during his tenure in the hospital, he saw too many patients who became vegetative due to accidents and diseases, and he had mixed feelings in his heart.

Perhaps because of his personality, he was more sensitive than Dr. Zheng. Dr. Zheng could numb himself, but he couldn't.

Due to the shortage of hospital beds, vegetative people are generally not admitted, and nursing homes are afraid of trouble, and they will not admit them. However, it is difficult for family members to provide 24-hour care, so some vegetative people are faced with such a situation. .

Doctors are supposed to cure diseases and save people, even if they are terminally ill, they have to do their best to rescue them, but they are helpless and can't do anything for these vegetative people who are called 'living dead'.

As time went by, he couldn't take it anymore and made a crazy decision.

Five years ago, he resigned from a tertiary hospital in Haishi, mortgaged a house, sold a house, raised more than 5 million yuan, and founded a vegetative nursing center in the suburbs of Haishi, near Kunming. .

During the establishment process, he also encountered many difficulties, such as site selection, fund raising, qualification certification and other issues, it took a long time.

After the difficult opening of the nursing center, the first occupant was welcomed.

A young girl who became a vegetable due to a car accident had been in a deep sleep for 2 years when her parents brought her here.

Nursing and medical expenses for these two years have almost consumed all of the family's savings.

In order to get good care for their daughter, the parents found Xiang Yong through the doctor's introduction.

Here, the parents finally got a moment of rest, and the arrival of this patient also opened up the reputation of the nursing center.

More and more family members of vegetative people found him and sent their relatives to the nursing center.

Every vegetative person has his own story. Some people suffered from traumatic brain injury due to a car accident, and some had sudden cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage.

These diseases and accidents turned them into vegetative states, sleeping in this secluded and remote place.

They have received professional care, and their family members have also relieved their worries, and can return to normal life and work with peace of mind.

This is what Xiang Yong wants to see most after practicing medicine for many years.

He always thought that taking care of a vegetable was actually appeasing a family.

Vegetative people also have the right to live, and the purpose of establishing a vegetative care center is to help vegetative people live in the most decent way.

This is very meaningful for both vegetative patients and their families.

Of course, the most ideal situation is that the patient can wake up as soon as possible.

Xiang Yong also knows that this is too whimsical, and he can only hope for the future, hoping that the development of science and technology can be realized in the not-too-distant future.

However, he never expected that the day when his dream would come true would come so quickly.

*****

Haishi, a vegetative care center in the suburbs.

Dr. Zheng distributed the medicine bottles in his hands to the nursing staff one by one, and explained in detail to the family members.

"After I contacted Sanqing Pharmaceuticals, they agreed to my clinical trial. Since it was difficult for a vegetative person to swallow the medicine, it was changed to intravenous injection, and the dosage was adjusted accordingly."

"Of course, the reasons for becoming a vegetable are different for each patient, the degree of brain damage is also different, and the progress of possible recovery is also different. It is still necessary to analyze the specific condition."

"The vegetative state caused by cerebral infarction and car accident obviously has different treatment options, and the damaged parts of the brain are also different."

"Every patient needs to find out the cause of coma, and carry out active and effective treatment according to the cause."

"There are also several patients who participated in the experiment. In fact, they are not completely comatose, but in a state of micro-consciousness. Their eyes can open autonomously. If they shake objects back and forth in front of their eyes, the patient's eyeballs can still follow them."

"Such patients have a greater chance of recovery and more treatment options."

"Nowadays, a brain and spinal cord electrical stimulation wake-up procedure is popular. Electrodes are placed above the spinal cord through minimally invasive surgery, and pulse currents are used to stimulate spinal cord nerves, increase cerebral blood flow and brain metabolism, and activate the brainstem reticular ascending system."

"This surgical treatment has a very good awakening effect on long-term coma patients. It can not only improve cerebral circulation and shrink ischemic lesions, but also stimulate the cerebral cortex and promote patients' consciousness."

"It's just that the timing of the operation must be timely, and there are not many patients who are applicable, so not everyone can use it."

"This new drug is an innovative result of regenerative science and neuroscience. It has excellent curative effect. Everyone can see the strength of Sanqing Pharmaceutical. Please rest assured that a miracle will appear in the next moment."

After hearing this, the onlookers showed expressions of joy and anticipation, and nervously stared at the relatives taking medicine.

When the patients finished their medicines, the family members breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, it depends on the curative effect.

Two weeks later, Xiang Yong rushed into the ward excitedly.

"What? Several deep coma patients have improved and entered a state of micro-consciousness?"

He stepped forward, raised his finger, waved it in front of the patient's eyes, and observed it carefully.

"That's right, the patient can already open his eyes. Although he hasn't regained consciousness yet, his eyeballs already have a tracking response."

"Pinch the patient's skin lightly and perform certain stimulation, and the patient's limbs will also have a weak reaction."

"Great! This... this medicine is really... amazing."

Xiang Yong was already dancing with joy.

"In this way, even if they don't fully wake up later, these patients in a state of ignorance can be treated with some neuromodulation methods."

"Come on, let's go and see those patients with milder conditions."

Then he turned and walked into another ward.

As soon as I entered, I saw family members calling for family affection.

Xiang Yong couldn't help nodding secretly, the family was quite strong and took care of them very well.

Then he looked at the patient, and was about to observe carefully, when suddenly the corner of his eye swept over him, and he suddenly gasped for breath, with a shocked expression on his face.

He was surprised to find that the patient's fingers were trembling slightly.