China Overseas Press, March 3rd. According to the WeChat public account of the Chinese Communist Party, in early 2020, the new crown pneumonia epidemic swept away, casting a haze over the Spring Festival, which was supposed to be happy and peaceful. After the epidemic, the vast number of overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese took an active part, doing their best to support the motherland (nationality) to survive the difficulties. One of them was Cao Yihai, a tenured professor of the Swedish Karolinska Medical College and a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Find an effective alternative-tocilizumab
From January 21, Cao Yihai was anxious about the daily outbreak data, especially the number of deaths, updated on the website of the National Health Commission. Based on professional experience, he knows that new virus infections are difficult to cure in a short period of time. Before effective vaccines are developed, reducing mortality is the key. At the same time, he is convinced that finding alternative medicines to reduce the mortality of critically ill patients is a top priority. Based on previous follow-up studies of domestic epidemics and related cases, and accumulated years of professional research, Professor Cao Yihai quickly wrote a written proposal on the treatment plan and reported it to the Science and Technology Division of the Chinese Embassy in Sweden on January 24th.
During the Spring Festival, the Zhigong Party actively deployed to support overseas Chinese to participate in the prevention and control of domestic epidemics. Wan Gang, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Central Committee of the CCP, gave instructions to timely understand and collect overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese's opinions and suggestions on epidemic prevention and control and disease treatment. On January 29, the Zhi Gong Party Central Committee held an online video conference to discuss with overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese professionals. At the meeting, Professor Cao Yihai further explained the treatment concept of "old medicines and new uses", that is, the treatment of critically ill patients with drugs that have been clinically approved to treat other diseases (including anti-arthritis, anti-tumor drugs, etc.), and submitted a complete Treatment plan recommendations. Chairman Wan Gang attached great importance to the proposal and transferred it to the scientific and technological research group of the joint defense and control mechanism of the State Council.
While waiting for a reply, Professor Cao did not stop, focusing on the four types of drugs in the treatment plan-tocilizumab (a drug for arthritis), bevacizumab (a drug for tumors and ophthalmic diseases), Anti-inflammatory drugs (for the treatment of "inflammatory storm") and anti-interleukin-6 drugs (for the treatment of viral sepsis and shock), actively mobilize domestic and foreign resources to ensure that once the plan is adopted, there are sufficient sources of medicine in the clinic. During this time, he contacted Japanese immunology expert Tajiki Kishimoto (the discoverer of interleukin-6, the developer of the tocilizumab drug and held a patent for the drug), and Kishimoto said he would actively work to provide drugs to Chinese patients; contact Shandong Qilu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (a Chinese pharmaceutical company that produces bevacizumab and other drugs for the treatment of tumors and ophthalmic diseases), said the company is willing to provide free drugs for epidemic prevention and control.
Kung Fu is worthy of care. On February 11, the feedback from the Science and Technology Tackling Team of the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism was conveyed to Professor Cao Yihai: the treatment plan was organized into theoretical guidance for clinicians' reference. Professor Cao immediately sorted out three guidelines based on clinically prone pulmonary edema, sepsis-shock, and inflammatory (cell) factor storm. Professor Cao worked hard day and night, hoping that this clinical trial could achieve positive results, critical patients could get out of danger as soon as possible, and provide a feasible treatment plan for the global new coronary pneumonia epidemic.
The good news finally came! On February 15, the First Affiliated Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced the preliminary clinical study of tocilizumab targeting IL-6 in patients with critically ill patients with new coronary pneumonia: "14 critically ill patients had diffuse lung lesions before treatment, Among them, 11 patients had persistent fever. After treatment with the new treatment regimen of 'tocilizumab + conventional treatment', the body temperature fell to normal within 24 hours, and has been stable so far, which has lasted for 9 days. The respiratory oxygenation index is different. The degree of improvement was improved; the absorption of CT lesions in the lungs improved in 4 patients, and 1 patient with critical tracheal intubation had been successfully offline. " At present, the "tocilizumab treatment plan" has been recommended to many hospitals for clinical application. At the same time, regarding the cancer drug bevacizum recommended by Professor Cao, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University is enrolling patients in Wuhan for clinical trials ...
Gathering the wisdom of overseas Chinese to make suggestions for epidemic prevention and control
The treatment plan was adopted and the clinical application effect was good. Professor Cao was gratified. The concerns over the past few days have finally come into being, and he has been more involved in the battle for epidemic prevention and control. In addition to his status as an overseas medical expert, Professor Cao Yihai is also the president of the Nordic Association. The Nordic Association is composed of science and technology experts and scholars from five Nordic countries and overseas Chinese, and is committed to building scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation between China and the EU. In the three years since its establishment, the association has been repeatedly invited to return to China by the Central Committee of the KMT, and has also promoted the promotion and cooperation of Sino-European science and technology projects in northern Europe. Chairman Wan Gang has visited Sweden twice and had an in-depth exchange with the Nordic Association. He also visited Cao Yihai Laboratory at Karolinska Medical School in Sweden.
While promoting the implementation of the treatment plan, Cao Yihai widely mobilized the members of the Nordic Zhi Gong Association, combined with his professional expertise, to pay attention to the development of the epidemic in China and the situation of first-line treatment. The members of the association have made valuable suggestions on optimizing virus detection methods and expanding effective treatment programs. Through the channels of the GongDang Party, they have submitted "The Nordic ZhiGong Association's Recommendations for the Control of the Outbreak", New Coronary Pneumonia Causes of Death "," Recommendations on Using New Technologies to Improve the Speed and Accuracy of New Coronary Virus Detection "," Recommendations on Establishing a National Respiratory Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control and Vaccine Research Center ", etc. The central government reported to the State Council's "Recommendations on the Use of Multiple Protocols for the Treatment of New Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia" through the through train. On February 8, after the Ministry of Science and Technology issued the "Notice of the Ministry of Science and Technology on Issuing the Guidance for the Application of New Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) On-site Rapid Detection Product R & D Emergency Project Application Guideline", Cao Yihai also instructed the association's experts to actively apply for the project.
"Medicine is my specialty. I have a difficult medical problem in my home country, and I can't afford to do everything I can to repay the people in my hometown with what I have learned." Professor Cao Yihai sincerely expressed his participation and support in the network exchange group. Aspirations for China's Epidemic Prevention and Control. For more than a month, he was the most active vocalist in the group and the fastest responding expert to discuss issues. He always followed the development of the epidemic to think about response measures and improvement directions, which should be derived from his hard work and dedication over the years. Problematic academic habits. Since going abroad in 1986, he has gone to the top universities in Switzerland, the United States, Sweden and other countries to study and engage in research. He has achieved fruitful results and has become a world-renowned expert in the field of tumor vascular hyperplasia. While working overseas, Prof. Cao is concerned with his native country and practiced his patriotism with what he has learned throughout his life. As he said, "I have difficulties in the country, and I must support it." (Text: Zhou Hui, Gong Sijin / Picture: Cao Yihai)