Chapter 2409: Chapter 2401: New Problems
Low white blood cells, which means low immunity. However, the old lady is eighty-eight years old, so various ailments frequently appearing is quite normal.
Li Shishi doesn’t understand what low white blood cells mean, but she has no interest in knowing, "I don’t quite understand. Can her condition still be managed?"
"This is really..." Professor Guan rubbed his head in distress, and finally mustered the courage, "At her age, low immunity can easily lead to problems. I saw in the booklet that it’s possible to effectively treat diseases caused by low immunity?"
Li Shishi blinked and shook her head in confusion, "Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying... What booklet?"
Professor Guan didn’t find it surprising, nor did he think it was an excuse. It’s quite normal in hospitals to have divided responsibilities, and as medical specialties continue to become more segmented, many people are only familiar with content from their respective fields.
The affiliated hospital of the school he is at operates similarly. When a patient’s condition becomes slightly complex, it requires consultation from multiple departments—becoming proficient in one subdivided department already counts as a core strength.
It’s no wonder the elderly man who spans several departments is so remarkable; indeed, that’s the case. And as specialized fields become more professionalized, it becomes increasingly rare to see general practitioners.
Professor Guan is accustomed to this mindset, so he finds it normal that Li Shishi doesn’t know about the booklet. But that’s not the point; the point is he doesn’t know how to broach the subject with her.
Finally, he gritted his teeth, "I mean, my grandaunt... still needs treatment for her low immunity."
Li Shishi blinked again before asking, "This treatment... can’t you do it?"
"We can help boost white blood cells," Professor Guan said confidently, and then he changed his tone, "But the related medications might produce some other side effects... after all, she’s quite old."
Li Shishi blinked a few times, silently watching him.
Professor Guan just felt his face flush with warmth, but he spoke firmly, "I saw the booklet mentioned that Luo... your place has very advanced techniques to effectively prevent low immunity."
Li Shishi blinked twice, and seeing that he didn’t speak anymore, she frowned slightly, "This matter, you shouldn’t be discussing with me. I’m just a worker; you need to speak with our boss."
Professor Guan certainly knows that she is not the head of Luohua. However, the head is reportedly difficult to communicate with, so he took a deep breath, "Your boss, Boss Feng, right? I’m not very familiar with him. Can you pass a message for me?"
Li Shishi blinked again, "But I’m not familiar with you either."
Professor Guan was nearly speechless, yet couldn’t explode—what she said was indeed true.
He could only sigh, "Alright, please wait a bit. I’ll first do some other tests for her."
The tests were actually pretenses. Professor Guan was fairly knowledgeable about his grandaunt’s physical condition. He said this mainly to wait for his family’s "sincerity" to be delivered.
What sincerity had he prepared? A broken stone stele, determined by research to be small seal script, presumably an artifact from early Han dynasty. Professor Guan doesn’t deal in artifacts; this was given by a wealthy patient, said to be able to ward off evil spirits and cultivate positive energy.
He knows Feng Jun isn’t interested in anything else; only rare Daoist sect texts might impress him, but Professor Guan truly doesn’t have those. All he has is that stone stele, which might be noteworthy, so he sent his student to deliver it.
This matter, he hadn’t even discussed with his grandaunt’s family. Her children fared pretty well—at least they’ve stayed at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai—but they were still not quite as well-off as he was. The key is he wanted to repay kindness, without needing his grandaunt’s family to appreciate.
By noon, another student of his arrived, delivering the stone stele to Yang Yuxin.
Feng Jun also knew Professor Guan’s request, feeling quite conflicted. He indeed had some treatment methods, but agreeing might continue to disrupt his plans.
But if he didn’t agree, the old lady’s condition was indeed a bit risky. He didn’t want someone he had just treated to encounter problems due to other causes—firstly, it would damage his reputation, and secondly... the truth is, helping others is quite addictive.
While he was deliberating, his divine sense detected the stone stele, prompting an involuntary "Hmm." "Is there really such a thing? It seems... worth pondering."
So he used his divine sense to contact Li Shishi, "Tell that Professor Guan that filial piety is a virtue, and I plan to fulfill him... mainly because I really like the item he presented, then you come back to study this gene modulation... forget it, let’s choose something else."
There are many ways to enhance immunity, but Feng Jun thought it over and opted for the granulocyte inducement factor. This isn’t a genetic agent, but it can safely increase white blood cells.
But inducement factors aren’t completely free of side effects; they promote granulocyte generation but also lead to the shortening of cell telomeres.
The shortening of cell telomeres can be seen as the true cause of human aging, because each time a cell divides, the telomere shortens a little, eventually shortening to the point where further shortening is impossible, and the cell enters senescence.
Whereas the people of the Human Race in the Insect World can live to over two hundred years because there are numerous ways to inhibit cell telomere shortening.
These methods include single-use ones and those with significant side effects. So far, there hasn’t been a long-term solution for cell telomere shortening, so people over there still have a lifespan limit—money can’t change that.
However, for Feng Jun, his forte is deduction and matching. Which medication is most suitable doesn’t trouble him.
Initially, he considered using genetic agents, but the deduction showed that there was a thirteen percent likelihood of negative reactions for the old lady.
According to Feng Jun’s analysis, part of this thirteen percent could be due to the genetic mismatch between the two Human Races—the genetic gap has grown to nearly one percent, increasing the likelihood of problems with genetic agents.
But certainly part of the reason also lies in the physical condition. The old lady’s body is quite frail, and genetic agents... can’t be completely free of side effects. Those side effects might negatively impact her.
Whereas with inducement factors, the possibility of adverse reactions in the old lady is only 0.5%.
In fact, the side effects of inducement factors are far more than this; it inevitably reduces the old lady’s lifespan. But in this regard, it’s not really an issue—generally speaking, the lifespan of the Human Race over there isn’t in question to reach one hundred and fifty years.
And the ideal lifespan for this elderly lady should be around ninety-four to ninety-five years.
In other words, even without using inducement factors, she wouldn’t live for many years. Since she can’t live up to one hundred and fifty, the loss of cell telomeres doesn’t matter—as long as in future living, care is taken not to stimulate frequent cell division.
Simply put, this is like a "quenching thirst with poison" choice, yet it is the best choice, first reaching the goal of quenching thirst, and then dying of old age before the poison takes its toll.
0.5%... that certainly makes this the choice.
The especially brilliant part is that this inducement factor is liquid, encapsulated in sustained-release form, two capsules per day—if the white blood count returns to normal levels, medication can be paused and resumed once it drops to a certain extent.
Feng Jun found a regular plastic bottle, filled it with fifty capsules, and handed it to Li Shishi, "Tell him these fifty capsules are free, afterward they’ll cost money..."
When Professor Guan received the inducement factor, he was bewildered, "Sustained-release capsules taken every two days... what’s the principle behind this?"
"I typically don’t like asking the boss about the principles," Li Shishi genuinely explained, but it always sounds a bit offhand, "Anyway, he said so, just listen... if you don’t believe it, don’t take them."
Are you kidding? Professor Guan would never give up, "I just wanted to ask, which genetic fragments are modified, or rather... what’s the inhibition?"
"Not related to those two aspects," Li Shishi shook her head, pondered a moment, then answered, "It should be inducement factor."
"Inducement factor?" Professor Guan’s face did not look favorable; his medical knowledge was indeed abundant, "Hormone-based product? Or encouraging cell division?"
Talk about this with a medical novice like me, what’s the point? Li Shishi shook her head, answered very straightforwardly, "Sorry, I don’t understand."
Professor Guan nodded, silently putting away the plastic bottle, "I’ll first have my grandaunt take two capsules, and if there’s a noticeable effect in three days, I’ll trouble Teacher Li to help manage her condition, does that work?"
Li Shishi tilted her head to think for a moment, then nodded slightly, "Alright, but as you mentioned last time, the old lady’s calcification points are too many... this isn’t going to work."
"I know, but as people age... it’s better to progress slowly," Professor Guan replied weakly, and in the next moment, his eyes lit up, "Do you have any medication for softening arteries?"
"Don’t know," Li Shishi shook her head, then frowned as she looked at him, "There should be a limit to what people seek, right?"
Professor Guan could only wryly smile, "I’m just asking... truly just asking."
Li Shishi turned away, and sure enough, a few experts gathered around, eyeing Professor Guan with envy, especially the Military Medical University’s expert directly stated, "That capsule of yours, give me five... price is negotiable."
"You wish," Professor Guan replied without hesitation, "This concerns my grandaunt’s life... it’s a matter of life; can you even afford to buy it?"
"Not much of a difference with those five capsules," the Military Medical University expert commented, "The effect is still uncertain; selling it at a high price reduces risk... what if there’s no effect?"
Professor Guan dealt with this type of person with ease, "If it doesn’t work, then you’re just at a loss?"
"I have public reimbursement," the Military Medical University expert answered matter-of-factly, "If a reverse study succeeds, your aunt won’t have to worry about medication anymore."
(Updated to summon monthly tickets.)
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