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Show j gjJL. Drilling a Class of Girl Victims of Infantile Paralysis to Correctl Spinal Curvature and Other Deformities Caused by thai '"''" " " I Dreaded Disease t HKpP Dt by any means rare The period mune serum was available from sev if of greatest prevalence is during the eral monkeys which had recovered A- yk &g? s "" ,x. A . n v. , .-.!, . - . , J & f m i mportant announcement just A made tv the Rockefeller In 1 s&tute, New York indicate j science la rapid y giining ground id campaign against infantile ajsis Into De paralysis is not only o c Hi erne est of diseases finding ts im mainly in Infants and young Idrta and either killing them o t jlln, them for life but it has ane of the most baffling ft a number of years scientists Slug under the auspices of the j e er Institute have conducted ntcesJon of eipe ments on A js and other an mals n an 'it o shed further light. on the nre and characteristics jjbt this x the ultimate object, being, -of rat, to find a preventat ve of a i Ittongh these expe ments anj ila trperiments conductect"TDv f aentlflc workers' the woiid Bha e not yet enab ed us to stamp 11 He disease nor resulted n the srarj ot a cure, they have ne e its. proven of the greatest value H ; ha e demonstrated fo no, that the jniciobe wh ch cauoe i leant enters the body by way to upper respirator mucous Ibane Ths fact at once led ? i authorities hav ug infant! e i is cases under their cbaise to i It that the dise se was not ad through Infected Dial is m, and in that waj the com tta ot the scourge thiough lot! and nurses has undoubtedly netted to a considerable ex t "stbng infanlle paralss or ncpollomyel t s as it is tech "If called Profes or Simon 1 lex of the Rockefe ler Inst tute w research on the subject is Wy responsible for what wo o( It to day recently declared 1 1 Bin poliomyelitis (Infantile "M is preeminently a disease r chi dhood anu finds tho h gh Wantage o it, tim in the -years of lite but toes not 5 spa e o der children or e en iu , ato'tted y nfectious 'le it is true that many mo o Z?! 811156 than o multiple fltW vet multiple ones aie Drilling a Class of Girl Victims of Infantile Paralysis to Correctl Spinal Curvature and Other Deformities Caused by thai Dreaded Disease not by any means rare The period of gieatest prevalence is during the months of August September and Oetobe in the northern hemisphere and the corresponding months In the Eouthe n hem sphere but the epi lemic begins i the early Spring and Summer months and ths dlseise does not wholly disappear during the W nte months It does not there fore, necessarily die out at any pe od of the year Dr Flexne n conjunction with Dr Hirold L Amoss now announce tho l es lit of a series of exper ments wh ch not only demonstrate exictly how the virus reaches the brain and sp nal column but how it may be neut alized wh le n trans t from the blood through the cerebro spinal fluid to the s bstance of the sp nal cord jind brain by an injection into the ep ne o an immune serum In th s aj the product on of paralys s s averted Since the virus was known to pass success vely over se eral days fiom the blood to the cerebro sp nal fluid, in vthich it sems not to accumulate Dr Hirold L Amoss now announce tho l es lit of a series of exper ments mint wh ch not only demonstrate exictly jtW how the virus reaches the brain and sp nal column but how it may be neut alized wh le n trans t from the iyT blood through the cerebro spinal fluid to the s bstance of the sp nal cord BRrL jind brain by an injection into the HBjWffiL ep ne o an immune serum In th s SSHxP aj the product on of paralys s s S Since the virus was known to pass tfPiilam I sSL success vely over se eral days fiom tjqlii wJiltlPlillP the blood to the cerebro sp nal fluid, HHw lilPSsiw' in vthich it sems not to accumulate MRS ?TlPwfl I J$ H? Paralys 'a Vh-us J y Nasa" s" V J UntVlt Roches' r , , K I J the Olfactory -V & i t Jr Lobe of the - s I i Wy Brain B , t Whence It Is X , Readily Con mvs veyed to the -i-. Medulla Obion A Sp nal Nerve Centre Showing Diffuse Infamrnatory Process and Beg inn ng Death of Nerve Cells Recent Experiments Show That No Matter Where he Dl sease Virus Enters the System It Ult mately Trav erses the Spinal Column but fiom which it is transferred to the nervous t ssues it was thought tl at the introduction of a potent im nune serum nto the meninges the membrane envelopin0 the brain nud spinal cord at Inter a s ovei a num ber of daj s would suffice to neut al lze the translated vi us and thus pre vent infection Tor this purr Obe im mune serum was available from sev eral monkeys which had recovered from infantile paralysis and had been subseg. ently reinforced by large in jectlons of the virus under the skin Experiments conducted on monkeys showed conclusive y that the vims injected Into the e ns of the subjects was completely neutra ized by the immune serum injected into the spine Ko symptoms de eloped anl the in mal remaned normal T(hile monke s who had received no in iagram Showing tl e Most Com mon Route of the Infant le Paralys s Virus Entering th Nasal Passages at Pi ft Trav erses the Olfac tory Fibres Until It Reaches the Olfactory Lobe of the Brain B Whence It Is Readily Con veyed to the Medulla Obion gata at C and Invades the Spinal Column je tlon of the immune serum de-- de-- eloped typical poliomye itis Further experments were con ducted to as ertaln whether a s milar neutralization could be effected in a case in which the virus was intro duced directly into the men nges by means of lumbar puncture and the results were most satisfactory D ocusstng the various exper ments performed Drs Flexner and Amoss declare fte are confronted with the prob lem as to the site of entrance of the virus of poliomyelitis into the human body as well as the manner in which the specific les ons of tht disease are produced The lattei question has already been cleared up m large measure It ia now suffic ently obvl ous that the virus possess affin ty for nervous tissues n general but for no element of those tissues in partlcilar On the basis of actual observations it cannot ba stated th t virus is attracted by the nerve cells either alone or necessarily in advance of the other structures mentioned while the experiments show that it 13 only when the virus is brought to the nervous organs others lse than by the general b ood that the t ssues com po ng them are able read ly to re mo e and attach it to themselves This latter fact is a cardinal point, and one from which we may derive valuable information on the pathogenes s and mode of infection ot the disease Infection by way of the nerves, t is pointed out is the mo e certain the nearer they are to the brain Where the inoculation is by way of the spine it is sometimes rendered ineffective by reason of the fact that a part, sometimes perhaps all of the lirus may be carr ed into the gen eral blood before it can reach and become attached to the nervous tissues That is why infection by way of the nssal membranes is more certain in Its results than nocu at on sub cutaneously the distance between the short o factory nerve fibre and the brain tissue be ng very short Some times germs enter ng the nose never result in infect on, however because they are washed away before they reach the olfactory fibres through which they would be ca ried to the brain Under natural condit ons the in estigators point out, it is the upper respiratory mucous membrane that is most often contaminated with the virus and most readily favors its conveyance to the bram Thit the virus ne er passes direct f om the blood to the nervous organs but finds ts way there through the cereb o spinal fluid Is taken as es tabl shed, not only by the find ng of the virus In the cerebro spinal fluid after an Injection Into the b ood but also through the prevention of in fection by the injection of immune serum into the spine after infus on of tho virus into the eii s under con dltions insuring Infection but for the protect on afforded by the immune serum. Thus the experimental evidence. New Experiments on Monkeys Have Demonstrated Exactly How the Cruel Disease Reaches the Brain and How, in Some Cases, the Virus May Be Stopped in Transit l One of the Pitiful Victims of Infantile Paralysis Undergoing Stretching Treatment to Lengthen a Shortened Limb which 3sapheld by observations in human cases of poliomyelitis declare de-clare the investigators supports tho view that epidemic poliomyelitis is caused by the entrance into the body of Its specific microblc cause or virus through the upper re plratory mucous membrane to the olfactory lobes of the brain from which by means of the cerebrospinal fluid it is dis tributed throughout the substance of the nervous organs but since the virus may reach the brain by way of any nervous channel and even al though nlth great d fflculty from the blood It is of course possible that in exceptional instances other modes of Infection may arise Another Important point verified by the experiments was that when the virus wlthm the blood fails to ga n access to the central nervous organs and to set up paralysis It is de stroyed by the body in the course of wh ch destiuctlon It undergoes as result of the action of the spleen and perhaps other organs dimlnu tion of virulence and the general conclusion is reached that infection In man is local and by way of the nerves rathei than general and by nay of the blood Whether or not the immune serum hlcl enab ed the scientists to arrest the development of the disease In ex perimental cases In wh ch the virus had not yet reached the brain may be eventually utilized to cure human pat ents has yet to ba ascertained No cure has been yet discovered b it science is on the right path and the neir future may witne s the dtscov ery of an absolute remedy In anv event, much will have been achieved if the spread of the disease Is pie vented by the use of Immune serums Pol omyel tis is not a disease with a very high mortality its chief ter ror 1 es in ts appalling power to pro duce deformities "When death does occur It is not the result as in many infect ons of a process ot poisoning that robs the patient of strength and consciousness before Its Imminence but is caused solely by paralysis of the respiratory function sometimes jvith mere f ul suddenness but often Rith painful slowness -without in any degree obscuring the coasciousness of the suffocating victim until just before the end is reached No more terrible tragedy can be witnessed When the acute disease has passed away and deformities have begun to make their appearance It is neceB sary to resort to mechanical treat ment The Rockefeller Hospital doctors give many suggestions as to the character ot this treatment Mas sage Is said to be a most helpful aid In the treatment Heat and esi e daily baking exert a good influence on the circulat on Of all methods by far the most valuable one is muscle training The slow recovery often continues for a ery long time and to be sura that the muscles have regained all the power they are capable of con sclentious treatment ought to ba con tinued for a year and a half or two years |
