Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 46: Taking Effect
"Eat more celery for the next couple of days. Just eat it cold. It’s good for this illness."
Li Xu gave him a few more instructions.
He then went to find Miaoli.
He exchanged a few words with her.
Then, he casually mentioned, "After I went home yesterday, I read the paper in *Dragon Country Virology* a few times. I feel like Apigenin and Luteolin have similar effects, so I told the patient to eat more celery."
Miaoli didn’t pay it any mind, even thinking, ’Li Xu is simply overthinking things.’
’If it were that easy, the team from the School of Life Sciences would have figured it out long ago.’
"I’m heading out. Call me if you need anything."
Li Xu returned to his clinic before 9:00 AM.
Just in time to open for business.
Although he had already made a small name for himself, there still weren’t many patients now that the wave of flu had passed.
He went back to reading his book, while Song Sisi edited a paper nearby.
Before long,
a message popped up in a group chat.
It wasn’t his alumni chat, but the official group for the District Health Commission.
All the heads of the local clinics were in it.
A staff member from the District Health Commission had posted a notice.
The notice stated that a case of poisoning from a tick bite had occurred in Feng City. It instructed all clinic doctors to be vigilant and to immediately transfer any suspected cases of tick poisoning to a proper hospital.
It also required all doctors to order or read the latest issue of *Dragon Country Virology* online to study the TCM principles behind the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula.
"Well now..."
Li Xu smiled. ’The higher-ups are acting surprisingly fast this time.’
Right after that, messages also appeared in his alumni chat group.
Hu Qiming: "Our hospital just sent out a notice telling all doctors to study the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula. They’re even organizing a special course where our hospital’s experts will explain it."
Jiang Peng: "My hospital got the notice too."
Li Baojie: "@Miaoli, you’re famous this time! My director was just talking about you guys."
Miaoli: "It’s all thanks to Li Xu. We just prepared the medicine according to his formula."
Hu Qiming: "But besides your hospital, no one else knows it was Li Xu’s achievement. @Li Xu, you really lost out on this one."
Li Xu: "It’s not about getting credit. I wasn’t trying to get famous anyway. @Miaoli, how is the patient doing?"
Miaoli: "We ran blood tests and did an ultrasound on him this morning. The virus has been contained, and his platelet count is gradually increasing, but the virus is still damaging his internal organs. The situation is still not optimistic."
When they drew his blood that morning, Wang the Third hadn’t eaten any celery yet.
’The effects wouldn’t manifest this quickly.’
Li Xu figured the earliest they’d see an effect would be around this time tomorrow.
The day passed quickly.
The new information he received was nothing special.
It was just a treatment plan for some patient.
After Li Xu jotted it down, he opened his clinic for business as usual.
...
Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Today, Miaoli was doing the rounds by herself. She checked on Wang the Third’s condition and asked a nurse to perform his routine examination.
An hour later, the test results came back.
Miaoli held Wang the Third’s test report, carefully comparing it with the previous day’s data. Her brow, which had been furrowed in concern, gradually relaxed.
"Huh? This..."
She rubbed her eyes, thinking she must be mistaken.
His platelet count had rebounded significantly, his liver function indicators had also improved greatly since yesterday, and the speed at which his viral load was decreasing far exceeded expectations.
"That can’t be right..." Miaoli muttered to herself.
According to the data in the research paper, while the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula could suppress the virus, its effectiveness in repairing organ damage wasn’t significant. It usually took three to five days to see any marked improvement.
Yet in Wang the Third’s case, after only a single day, all his metrics had improved dramatically. It was as if he had been given some kind of wonder drug on the side.
She checked the patient’s medication chart. Other than the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula, there were only some basic liver support medications. There was no special treatment listed.
’Could his own immune system have suddenly kicked into high gear?’ Miaoli couldn’t make sense of it.
She took the test results to Guo Yu.
"Chief, take a look at this."
"Hm?"
Guo Yu was surprised as well.
The patient was recovering remarkably quickly.
At this rate, he could be discharged in another two days.
Their original estimate had been at least five days.
"Compile a detailed report on the patient’s condition. The Health Commission specifically requested one, and we need to send a copy to Jinmen University as well."
Guo Yu instructed, "Include all medications the patient has taken during his hospitalization... Oh, and ask the patient what he’s eaten over the past two days. Record that and include it in the report too."
"Understood."
Miaoli nodded.
The day before yesterday, their hospital had submitted the report on the tick-bite patient.
Infectious diseases were taken very seriously by the higher authorities.
The superior Health Commission had specifically contacted Wang Tao’s team at the Jinmen University School of Life Sciences.
Wang Tao’s team was also very interested in the first clinical case since their paper was published.
They had requested all the relevant data.
After a flurry of activity,
Miaoli had a moment to spare and sent a message to Li Xu: "Li Xu, Wang the Third’s test results have shown exceptional improvement. The virus is being suppressed much faster than expected, and his liver indicators have improved significantly. I’m guessing the patient’s own immune system is kicking in."
’It’s true that the patient’s immune system has improved,’ Li Xu thought.
’But the root cause is the Apigenin.’
His mind began to race...
When a patient takes the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula and supplements it with Apigenin, it can effectively protect the internal organs and prevent viral damage.
Wang Tao’s team at Jinmen University hadn’t discovered this method.
’Should I tell them?’
Li Xu pondered.
’Right now, I’m the only one who knows about this method.’
’It’s basically my own secret technique.’
’But on second thought, it isn’t all that useful.’
’While there are quite a few cases of tick-borne illness globally,’
’on average, any given city will only see one or two cases.’
’If a patient’s condition is serious, they’ll go to a major hospital right away.’
’I’ll never get the chance to diagnose and treat a tick-bite patient myself.’
’It’s basically a useless skill for me.’
’In that case,’
’I might as well just release the information.’
’It could help treat more patients.’
’But who should I give it to?’
’And how?’
Li Xu mulled it over.
Wang Tao’s team had used not only TCM methods but also many high-tech instruments to develop the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula.
They had reached their conclusions after countless experiments.
’How would anyone believe a simple clinic doctor like me, with no experimental data or case studies to back it up? It would just be my word against theirs.’
’Then I won’t write a research paper... I’ll write it as a conjecture...’
Li Xu quickly came up with a plan.
He went over to his computer, opened Word, and got to work.
*A Conjecture on the Combined Use of Luteolin and Apigenin in the Treatment of Tick-Borne Illness*
In the document, Li Xu explained the origin of his conjecture. He detailed Wang the Third’s hospitalization and treatment with the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula, noting that while the virus was contained, the patient’s internal organs were still sustaining damage. This led him to consider that Apigenin and Luteolin might have similar protective effects. He then described the "experiment" he conducted—though only on a single case—and noted that the results were excellent.
He also mentioned that due to his limited access to patients with tick-borne illnesses, he was unable to conduct further verification.
Therefore, he could only present it as a conjecture...
"Boss, are you writing a research paper too?"
Song Sisi came over curiously when she saw Li Xu typing away.
When she saw what Li Xu was writing, her jaw dropped. "Huh? Celery can treat the tick-bite virus?"
Li Xu explained, "Not by itself. Apigenin is only effective when taken in conjunction with the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula."
Song Sisi blinked. She didn’t understand the underlying principles, but she had a sharp thought. "Boss, if your conjecture is true, doesn’t that mean you’ve basically upgraded the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula?"
"You could say that."
"Wow! In that case, will you get a reward for it too?"
"I’m not sure. We’ll have to see."
...
