Furthermore, using his divine sight, Falma could eliminate the possibility of other diseases.
Parkinson’s disease and Synuclein disease refer to the same condition. When Falma introduces a new disease in his textbook, he sometimes gives it a different name than what it was referred to on Earth. In particular, the diseases that were named after people couldn’t be introduced as-is, so Falma renamed them to better reflect their pathology and etiology.
For example, Parkinson’s disease is thought to be related to the buildup of dopaminergic neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions called Lewy bodies, which were shown to contain aggregates of α-Synuclein. As such, Falma gave it the generic name of Synuclein disease.
Parkinson’s disease can cause tremors and loss of balance, even at rest. It can also cause slow muscular movement. There are other symptoms, but Palle didn’t miss the cardinal signs.
“Is it a serious illness? Oh no… what should I do?”
Suddenly, the lady-in-waiting’s trembling began to worsen. Stress accelerates the progression of Parkinson’s disease.
“That’s right, it’s a progressive disease known as Synuclein disease. We should begin treatment as soon as possible”
As Palle finished his explanation, Falma interjected.
“It’s not immediately life-threatening, but please answer some more questions for me. Please get permission to come to the Other World Pharmacy tomorrow as well because I’ll prescribe some tests and medicine. I’m Falma, by the way, the owner of the Other World Pharmacy. Give these documents to the Chief Court Physician. I’d also like to ask you about your age, hometown, family medical history, etc. Do you have some time?”
Falma brought her to the waiting room where he performed the interview. He also wrote a medical certificate and instructed her to have Claude sign it. If both the court pharmacist and court physician approve, then the courtier would be allowed to seek medical treatment outside of the court.
Since it wasn’t possible to do a full medical examination in the waiting room, Falma invited the lady-in-waiting to the pharmacy.
“Don’t worry, we’ll provide all of the necessary treatment”
Palle offered words of encouragement to the nervous woman.
“Thanks to my older brother, I’ve found a new patient!”
Falma expressed his gratitude to Palle. Now he needed to go back and create a new medical chart for her. While Falma tries to examine all the courtiers every three months, he doesn’t always use his divine sight and might miss some new patients.
“The drug should either make up for the lack of dopamine caused by the buildup of synuclein, or inhibit the buildup of synuclein altogether”
It seems that Palle, who helped write the textbook, hasn’t forgotten the correct treatment for this disease.
“Because this is early onset, we should start with l-DOPA or a dopamine receptor agonist first”
“l-DOPA? Won’t dopamine by itself work?”
“Even if ingested, dopamine can’t enter the brain because there is a system known as the blood-brain barrier which prevents molecules from passing through. l-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) mimics the effect of dopamine, but has been processed to pass through the barrier. Let’s think about this after seeing the results of the examination. Furthermore, because we don’t know about the family’s medical record, let’s check family members as well.”
“I see… the medicine for this disease, it was a divine revelation by the Medicine God, right?”
Palle pondered.
“Uhh, well…”
(I’ll feel guilty if you say that)
However, Palle still had some doubts.
“Why not a drug that can break down the accumulated synuclein? Isn’t that the root cause? I don’t think a symptomatic treatment that doesn’t address the problem at hand is the best approach here”
“I’m glad you noticed”
(Or rather, it’s a very scientific point of view)
Falma was excited by this promising development.
As an alternative solution, artificial stem cells such as iPS cells can be injected into the brain in order to produce dopamine. However, it’s not practical in this world… and it also doesn’t address the root cause.
“You’re right. My textbook is by no means perfect and as you know, there are some diseases which can’t be cured”
Falma only knows of Earth’s pharmaceutics up to the 21st century. In order to advance further, the people of this world must work as one to acquire the new knowledge.
“I believe in my guardian deity, the Medicine God, from the bottom of my heart. He knows all that there is to know about pharmaceutics. That’s why I wonder why you won’t teach us your knowledge. Is this mankind’s next trial…?”
Palle seemed to be worried about the true intentions of the guardian deity.
“The will of the guardian deity is unfathomable”
Palle quietly said.
TN: I decided to translate the dialogue literally and provide context here, so I don’t misrepresent what level of detail Falma is providing. If you’re interested, please do some research on your own – it’s very interesting!
A dopamine receptor agonist is the generic term for a compound that activates dopamine receptors. It’s usually used with, but not necessarily concurrently, l-DOPA.
The blood-brain barrier prevents, among other things, large polar molecules from entering the central nervous system. Dopamine is a polar molecule, and so it can’t cross the barrier.
Dopamine
L-DOPA is both a polar molecule and an amino acid, so it’s transported across the barrier by L-type transport proteins. From there, it undergoes decarboxylation with the help of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase to become dopamine.
l-DOPA
Finally, iPS cells are a type of stem cell, which itself is a type of cell that can differentiate into other types of cells. In this case, iPS cells may be derived into dopaminergic neurons, which can synthesize dopamine.
Furthermore, using his divine sight, Falma could eliminate the possibility of other diseases.
Parkinson’s disease and Synuclein disease refer to the same condition. When Falma introduces a new disease in his textbook, he sometimes gives it a different name than what it was referred to on Earth. In particular, the diseases that were named after people couldn’t be introduced as-is, so Falma renamed them to better reflect their pathology and etiology.
For example, Parkinson’s disease is thought to be related to the buildup of dopaminergic neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions called Lewy bodies, which were shown to contain aggregates of α-Synuclein. As such, Falma gave it the generic name of Synuclein disease.
Parkinson’s disease can cause tremors and loss of balance, even at rest. It can also cause slow muscular movement. There are other symptoms, but Palle didn’t miss the cardinal signs.
“Is it a serious illness? Oh no… what should I do?”
Suddenly, the lady-in-waiting’s trembling began to worsen. Stress accelerates the progression of Parkinson’s disease.
“That’s right, it’s a progressive disease known as Synuclein disease. We should begin treatment as soon as possible”
As Palle finished his explanation, Falma interjected.
“It’s not immediately life-threatening, but please answer some more questions for me. Please get permission to come to the Other World Pharmacy tomorrow as well because I’ll prescribe some tests and medicine. I’m Falma, by the way, the owner of the Other World Pharmacy. Give these documents to the Chief Court Physician. I’d also like to ask you about your age, hometown, family medical history, etc. Do you have some time?”
Falma brought her to the waiting room where he performed the interview. He also wrote a medical certificate and instructed her to have Claude sign it. If both the court pharmacist and court physician approve, then the courtier would be allowed to seek medical treatment outside of the court.
Since it wasn’t possible to do a full medical examination in the waiting room, Falma invited the lady-in-waiting to the pharmacy.
“Don’t worry, we’ll provide all of the necessary treatment”
Palle offered words of encouragement to the nervous woman.
“Thanks to my older brother, I’ve found a new patient!”
Falma expressed his gratitude to Palle. Now he needed to go back and create a new medical chart for her. While Falma tries to examine all the courtiers every three months, he doesn’t always use his divine sight and might miss some new patients.
“The drug should either make up for the lack of dopamine caused by the buildup of synuclein, or inhibit the buildup of synuclein altogether”
It seems that Palle, who helped write the textbook, hasn’t forgotten the correct treatment for this disease.
“Because this is early onset, we should start with l-DOPA or a dopamine receptor agonist first”
“l-DOPA? Won’t dopamine by itself work?”
“Even if ingested, dopamine can’t enter the brain because there is a system known as the blood-brain barrier which prevents molecules from passing through. l-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) mimics the effect of dopamine, but has been processed to pass through the barrier. Let’s think about this after seeing the results of the examination. Furthermore, because we don’t know about the family’s medical record, let’s check family members as well.”
“I see… the medicine for this disease, it was a divine revelation by the Medicine God, right?”
Palle pondered.
“Uhh, well…”
(I’ll feel guilty if you say that)
However, Palle still had some doubts.
“Why not a drug that can break down the accumulated synuclein? Isn’t that the root cause? I don’t think a symptomatic treatment that doesn’t address the problem at hand is the best approach here”
“I’m glad you noticed”
(Or rather, it’s a very scientific point of view)
Falma was excited by this promising development.
As an alternative solution, artificial stem cells such as iPS cells can be injected into the brain in order to produce dopamine. However, it’s not practical in this world… and it also doesn’t address the root cause.
“You’re right. My textbook is by no means perfect and as you know, there are some diseases which can’t be cured”
Falma only knows of Earth’s pharmaceutics up to the 21st century. In order to advance further, the people of this world must work as one to acquire the new knowledge.
“I believe in my guardian deity, the Medicine God, from the bottom of my heart. He knows all that there is to know about pharmaceutics. That’s why I wonder why you won’t teach us your knowledge. Is this mankind’s next trial…?”
Palle seemed to be worried about the true intentions of the guardian deity.
“The will of the guardian deity is unfathomable”
Palle quietly said.
TN: I decided to translate the dialogue literally and provide context here, so I don’t misrepresent what level of detail Falma is providing. If you’re interested, please do some research on your own – it’s very interesting!
A dopamine receptor agonist is the generic term for a compound that activates dopamine receptors. It’s usually used with, but not necessarily concurrently, l-DOPA.
The blood-brain barrier prevents, among other things, large polar molecules from entering the central nervous system. Dopamine is a polar molecule, and so it can’t cross the barrier.
Dopamine
L-DOPA is both a polar molecule and an amino acid, so it’s transported across the barrier by L-type transport proteins. From there, it undergoes decarboxylation with the help of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase to become dopamine.
l-DOPA
Finally, iPS cells are a type of stem cell, which itself is a type of cell that can differentiate into other types of cells. In this case, iPS cells may be derived into dopaminergic neurons, which can synthesize dopamine.
