Insights and Updates

Ipilimumab, also known as Y-drug or anti-CTLA4 monoclonal antibody, is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb that binds to cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4). Since March 25, 2011, when the US FDA approved Yervoy (3 mg/kg) monotherapy for unresectable or metastatic melanoma, more…

Scleroderma is one of the connective tissue diseases with the highest mortality. Its main symptoms are generalized sclerosis of the skin and viscera, with vasculitis and fibrosis occurring throughout the body's organs; it is called scleroderma because of the hard lesions of the skin. The…

CA125 is an important tumor marker for ovarian cancer patients. After ovarian cancer patients have developed metastatic lesions, the five-year survival rate is very low. The two ovarian cancer patients with metastases introduced in this article have both survived for over five years, and during…

Asparagus Root (Tianmendong, also called Tiandong) is the tuberous root of Asparagus cochinchinensis, a plant of the Liliaceae family and the Asparagus genus. As early as in the Divine Farmer's Materia Medica (Shennong Bencao Jing), it was listed among the commonly used herbs. The Divine…

My favorite flower is the gardenia. This has a great deal to do with the environment in which I grew up. In our village in Huanggang, many households grew gardenias in front of and behind their houses. The gardenias we grew are not the potted…

The Secret Records of the Orchid Chamber (Lanshi Micang) is a work by Li Dongyuan. In this book there are three formulas for treating "nose unable to distinguish fragrance from stench" or "nasal congestion": one is called Lizi Tongqi Tang (Liz Airing-the-Qi Decoction), one Wenfei…

In the afternoon I went to get a nucleic acid test, and after that went to a nearby wet market to buy groceries. I bought a chicken and a piece of beef, paid 184 yuan, and left to buy vegetables at other stalls. Just as…

Pulse taking is the hallmark of TCM diagnosis. So just how important is pulse taking? Doctors and patients alike seem to regard TCM pulse diagnosis as very important, but Li Shizhen did not think so. Li Shizhen's Binhu Pulse Study (Binhu Maixue), Studies on the…

Lynch syndrome is a common autosomal dominant genetic disease resulting from germline mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes; it is also called HNPCC syndrome. The lifetime risk of colon cancer in Lynch patients is about 70–80%, and Lynch syndrome accounts for 2–4% of all colorectal…

The news of the past two days has been very unsettling. Several thugs in Tangshan openly harassed and beat weak women, and a man in Shanghai publicly slashed a woman on the street; all of this makes one indignant and longing to beat them soundly.