episode_0133

Episode 133. The Saintess of the Empire (2)

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A condition that mainly affects young women, can be triggered by trauma, causes them to close one eye, and can interfere with walking.

I think I know what the disease is. I lifted the saint’s blindfold and she frowned.

“Eng.”

As expected.

One of the saint’s eyes was drooping downward. Diseases that cause this type of asymmetric drooping eyelid include neuromyelitis optica, multiple sclerosis, and myasthenia gravis.

Of these three, the one most likely to be triggered by trauma is myasthenia gravis, which is caused by lesions of the peripheral nervous system rather than the central nervous system.

Myasthenia gravis occurs mostly in young female patients under the age of 40.

Rather than a 20-year-old patient who had no broken bones and was unable to walk due to trauma, this patient’s myasthenia gravis was triggered by trauma.

Or perhaps it would be more correct to assume that a similar disease was the cause of the fall. Fortunately, there is an easy way to diagnose myasthenia gravis.

“Saint, would you please give me your arm?”

“Why the arms again?”

I put a needle into the saint’s arm. The saint frowned. If I explained what the test was, the results might change.

Let’s take a look.

The diagnosis of myasthenia gravis is made by injecting edrophonium. This is commonly called a tensilon test. When edrophonium is injected into a patient with myasthenia gravis… … .

Well, you’ll know when you see it.

“Please explain what’s going on-”

I grabbed the saint’s arm. She got up from her wheelchair. She glared at me with her arms crossed, looking very annoyed.

“From now on. You keep doing things that I can’t understand-”

The saintess got up from the wheelchair without realizing it, as I had pulled her. The Tensilon test was positive, and her muscle weakness temporarily disappeared.

The saintess only now noticed the difference in altitude, so she stopped talking and looked around.

“Uh.”

I looked down at the floor and screamed.

It was a natural reaction.

Suddenly, the ability to walk without knowing what was going on returned. It was only natural that the saintess would be startled. She couldn’t hide her surprise.

“What’s going on?”

The priests who heard the screams rushed into the laboratory. The saintess stood there without saying a word. It took some time for the priests to grasp the situation.

“What the fuck.”

One of the priests covered his mouth.

Another one cursed quietly.

The saint just stared at me blankly. She seemed to not yet understand the situation, and was so shocked that she didn’t speak.

“Calm down.”

After a while, the saint opened her mouth.

“What, what did you do?”

“I was given a drug that can reverse the effects of myasthenia gravis. It seems that myasthenia gravis is definitely present. It is treatable.”

A thousand expressions flashed across the saint’s face. She looked at me silently, unable to say anything. She couldn’t even close her mouth.

The saintess took off her blindfold. Her eyes, which had been half-closed a little while ago, were now completely open. The priests who had followed her also just looked at me without saying a word.

“That, his leg is fine again. How did you do it? Did the professor do it? It must be a miracle. I thought it was because he lost strength in his leg after falling off his horse, but-”

The saintess continued talking nonsense for a while. I pushed her towards the sofa so she could sit down again.

This is only for testing purposes. The effects will wear off after a few minutes, and it would be a problem if you fell over then.

“But seriously. How did you know?”

“Please sit back down.”

“Yes!”

The saint pushed the wheelchair aside and sat down again, this time on the sofa in the study.

He was smiling so broadly that it was a little scary.

“First of all. The saint’s blindfold. One of the symptoms of myasthenia gravis is drooping eyelids, so she was wearing it because her eyes were squinting, right?”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“That’s why I lifted the blindfold.”

To be honest, I was secretly looking forward to the dramatic moment when the edrophonium test would show its effects, but the gazes that came back were burdensome.

I didn’t know it would be this bad. It was just for nothing.

Dramatic delivery isn’t important, right? The reaction would have been similar no matter how you fixed it anyway. There was no need to show it in a way that would give maximum psychological shock.

It’s already spilled milk.

The saintess and the two priests were staring at me so intently that I felt uncomfortable. The saintess’s eyes were sparkling, which was a bit uncomfortable.

“Then.”

“Yes!”

“The effects of the medicine you just injected will wear off in a few minutes. From now on, I will give you oral medicine. If you take it in the morning, you will be able to function normally on the day you take the medicine.”

The saint nodded like a child.

“Hehe.”

I avoided the gaze of the three priests. This time, the situation was reversed. The saint and the priests did not seem to be listening to what I was saying. They looked like they had taken some kind of drug.

The saint and her party continued to smile and nod their heads. It wasn’t an incomprehensible reaction, but it was also a bit scary.

“If your thoughts are complicated, shall we talk about it later?”

“No, it’s okay!”

Yeah, I’m not okay. I ran out of the lab, leaving the sparkling saint behind.

****

Let me explain again briefly.

Myasthenia gravis is a type of autoimmune disease. Antibodies in the body suddenly attack receptors at the neuromuscular junction, making it difficult for the nerves to send commands to the muscles, causing the muscles to weaken.

That’s why it’s called myasthenia gravis.

There is no known cause. It tends to run in families, but it can also occur suddenly after surgery, trauma, infection, or other illnesses.

Although it appears similar to multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica, no degenerative changes in the central nervous system are observed.

what…….

Anyway, neuromyelitis optica or multiple sclerosis cannot be diagnosed without MRI.

The above two diseases have no clear cure, so to be honest, there was no need to even consider them.

Anyway, I’m just tired.

I was standing leaning against the Academy Cafe.

“That. Aren’t you going to order?”

“Oh, yes.”

Right. I guess I’ll have to order it.

Let’s just order anything.

“Two cups of coffee, please.”

****

About 5 minutes later.

I bought coffee and returned to the lab. The three priests were sitting just as I had left them. I was worried that nothing had changed.

What can I do?

I put the coffee down in front of the saint.

“Oh, thank you.”

The saint sipped the coffee I had bought her.

“Then. Let’s continue what we were talking about earlier. Didn’t the saint say she would help with the research?”

“Anything… … .”

“Yes.”

oh my.

The saint’s mental state seemed to be the same as the storm in the flower garden I had seen earlier. I let out a small sigh. What should I say first?

“I was really curious. As rumored, I was curious as to why the princess chose the professor. I think it makes sense.”

“Yes… … .”

Hmm. I was just wondering. It seems the saintess hasn’t come to her senses yet. I stepped back a bit. The saintess covered her mouth and smiled slightly.

Let’s change the subject.

“Did you attend the fall conference this year?”

The saint nodded.

“We attended too. There was quite a bit of interesting research. There are a lot of recent discoveries, so there is a lot to study.”

“We are now testing two new drugs that have recently been developed. One is penicillin, which kills bacteria, and the other is an antipyretic.”

I scratched my head. The saintess laughed stupidly, shook her head, and began to speak again.

“Yes. The church is also researching what kind of medicine it is. Thanks to the professor who also revealed the method of making it. Of course, the church couldn’t make penicillin. They couldn’t find a method.”

Well, I did reveal a lot though.

I don’t know much about how to make penicillin on a commercial scale. It’s a complicated process, and the company’s alchemists have to fine-tune the process.

“Yes. It may be boring, but it seems like research and investment are needed for this new drug. After all, we need to verify whether it is effective or has side effects. Not only in terms of the drug’s ingredients, but also in terms of the manufacturing process.”

In Jekyll and Hyde, what ultimately turned Dr. Jekyll into a monster was the impurities in the ingredients. The ingredients of the medicine are important, but the end result should be seen as the result.

The saint nodded.

“I’ll help you as much as I can. I heard you’ve recently developed a new painkiller. I hope it can replace opium.”

“I wish that were possible.”

The saintess still looked dazed, but she seemed to have a lot to say about this.

“The amount of money spent on opium is increasing these days, and it seems that some people are embezzling it or spending too much.”

“That’s also a serious problem. If there are drugs lying around, you can’t help but be vulnerable to addiction.”

There was a person like that who came to me as a patient. I just thought about it to myself.

“To conclude, we will buy the professor’s medicine and test it as much as possible. Shinjeon will also actively invest in new medicine. I hope it works.”

I bowed my head to the saint.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. All the good I do is by God’s grace.”