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Show BALDNESS IN JAPAN. EPIDEMIO OF' THIS DISEASE IN ' LAND OF MIKADO. ICoropaan Women l.nmm Their flair While Rraldln In lha japaneea Itiu-plra Itiu-plra Man'a nearita Also rail Out nerulatlon as to Cans.' ' Corresponding of Ixindon Bpecta-tor: Bpecta-tor: The following account of an epidemic epi-demic of baldne s In J.ipsn may Interest In-terest your resders. European women who ar resld nis of Japan must live In a alate of constant tlnd, for, according ac-cording to reports from that country, they may at any time lose that greatly valued possession, the hair. A large number of women hivs already suffered suf-fered In this way; Indeed, there waa an epidemic of baldness at Chlba last year, and there base been an even more serious one quite recently at Osaka, the same province where. It will be remembered, an extensive epidemic epi-demic of plugue, which subsequently assumed a formidable and alarming character, prevailed In the last months of 18K9 and at the very beginning of 1900. The clinical course of the affection af-fection under consideration offers many point of Interest, and differs eminently both as regards extent and character from the occurrence of sudden sud-den baldness, ssy, for Instance, atler enteric fever or any other acute fever attack. For It la slated that during that epidemic ot baldness th lose of hair comes to women (and men also) after very little. If any. premonitory warning. The sra'p may, to all appearances, ap-pearances, be quite healthy, and, a far a Its external culmination Is concerned, con-cerned, no morbid signs could be detected, de-tected, and there may be no symptoms either of actual l inen or even of slight Indisposition; but a woman may find when ahe combs her balr aoon after rising In the morning, that It falls out In remarkable quantities, and soon she Is part y. If not Indeed qulto, bald. Or It may be that for somo little lit-tle time, as It has been obanrved In some of the more acute' rasea. ther have been dlslurbancs of vision, a feeling of vertigo, diminished appetite and digestive troubles, but none of them being well d wnH or presenting any definite character; It may. how-evor, how-evor, be added that In some cia-s, at least. It whs noted that a alight rla of temperature has preceded the affliction. af-fliction. The effects of the dlsenae exhibit ex-hibit several Interesting peculiarities. The bald patches are Irregularly spread over the hesd, but the first large one generally app aia on the crown and extends down th back of the head Instead of forward; thus It may be that tb ba. k ot th bead Is quite bsd and the front covered with hair th opposite ot the course ot baldness aa we know It tn Europe. Then, also, man'a beards ar ravaged In peculiar manner. Tha left cheek, say, may be completely bereft of balr, while the rest of the beard Is as usual, aa also 1 th moustache, which, fortunately,. for-tunately,. Is but slightly affsctsd by tb disease. Another point which may be noticed I that moat of tb victims at th cpldemla are women, and more children are attacked than men. Strange to aay It Is men In th prime of life who hsve to suffer, not those who ar advanced In years, Th latter seem to bs Immune from the complaint, com-plaint, for no rase Is reported of a man who had white or gray balr suffering any loss, and such Is the eccentricity ot the disease, fair men suffer much more than dark men, and dark women much more than their blonde slater. Th causa of this curious epidemic Is vary difficult to determine. Indeed, ther 1 no really satisfactory explanation explan-ation of it Some of the native puy-slclan puy-slclan think that tha European are affected by the climate, and other say that the water la the cause of the trouble, and a third party ar Inclined In-clined to believe that th disease Is parasitic. Little wonder, then, In view ot this uncertainty, that th treatments treat-ments tried for prevention a well a cur, ar very far from being efficacious. effica-cious. ' Ther Is an opportunity for a physician, native or otherwise, to distinguish dis-tinguish himself. |