Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1875-05-13
APOPIEXT.


dense for the benefit of our readers,
regretting that space cannot be given to
the whole:
If there is any one disease that the |
diligent brain worker little past middle |
life has reason to fear it is apoplexy. |
Although statistical evidence is wanting,
the experience of the physician confirms
the popular belief that more of our dis
tinguished men are carried off by this
disease or by one of its sequels, paraly
sis, than by any other cause. There are
no vessels carrying blood to and from
the various organs of the body which so
frequently rupture as those in the brain.
The causes that produce this result are
the fatty degeneracy of the middle arte-
rial coat of the cerebral vessels, whereby
their elastic strength is much impaired,
the great irregularity of blood distribu-
ton to the contents of the Uranium and
the little support which the pulpy sub
stance of the brain gives to the weak
ened vessels imbedded in it. The chief
causes which produce this structural
change are the habitual use of ardent
spirits and tobacco. Every one is aware
that the leading effects of these agents
on the body are such as show that the
functions of the nervous system are more
affected than any other, and the physi
clan also knows that when symptoms of
such as denote that the nervous system is
almost alone implicated.
Ardent spirits also tend to produce an
overfullness of the cerebral vessels, and
to affect the functions of the brain in a
manner which strangely blend stupidity,
brightness and exhilaration. Effects so
unnatural and so frequently ending in
disease, influence injuriously the nutri-
ton of the nervous centers. And to in
terfere with the nutrition of SAY part of
the body is simply to impair the life and
power of its structure. The evidences
of this impairment may not be felt i'm
mediately. In fact the evidences of i'm
pairment by any bad habit are seldom
apparent during the prime of youthful
vigor. But the mischief is going on,
nevertheless, and the organ upon which
the weight of infringement falls will be
the one that will first manifest signs of
disease, and through which death will
make it's conquest over the body. During
sleep the brain is almost bloodless; its
substance seems to shrink into hfeles
mass; but the moment that wakefulness
occurs it swells out, gets red, its arteries
and veins becoming distended with a
great tide of blood. No other part of
the body is subject to such drcuths and
floods in its circulation. This inequality
is still further increased by severe mind
labor. The ardent student is well aware
that deep thought heats the head and
cools the feet. The first apoplectic
little blood escapes by a tiny rent, the
shock to the system slows the action of
the heart, the escape of blood ceases,
and nature heals the part torn and re-
moves the blood-clot by absorption.
Then, as the blood vessels in the brain
grow weaker, under a greater tension
than ordinary, larger rent is made
allowing the blood to escape in hopeless
profusion. Napoleon stood in great
dread of this disease, and was told by
his medical adviser, "Sire, the first at
tack is warning, the second summons,
the third a summons to execution"
What is to be done by those who in
herit tendency to apoplexy or whose
habits of life predispose them to this
disease? Clearly to diminish and keep
the tension ON these vessels by the blood
at a low rate all the time. A prudent
fire-engineer, when his water hose are
old and weak, would work them at low
pressure. Men must carry out the same
simple mechanical principle when there
is reason to believe that the vessels of
the brain are getting weak and brittle.
A stroke of apoplexy occurs
frequently after eating full meal.
AS soon as old age puts decided
check on the amount of daily exercise, it
is time to put decided check on the
amount of food daily consumed. The
kind of food best adapted to keep down
superfuous blood is the vegetable. The
true rule is not to eat to entire safety.
Even those of younger years and seden-
tarylhabits will feel lighter and better in
every way by leaving the table little
hungry. All strong liquors are unsuited
to those with an apoplectic tendency for
reasons already given.
GRASSHOPPERS.
The crop of grasshoppers this year
,orOp,ises tn no nc abundant In Misqour