Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-08-29

Afected-Cures
The recent deaths Of John Mccullough,
tEe actor, and George L-bOld. theatrical
manager, together with the prOstration of
Barley Campbell. Joseph Dion and other
weliknown men, and the rapid recruit
Ing miscellaneous army Of ~cranks, have
directed the attention Of the public to
what ia Ito them) a comparatively new
form Of insanity. This disease IS more or
less correctly termed ~paresis,n general
parseis, general paralysis progressive
phtalysts, "paretic dementia,' ~softeniny
or the brain, and brain wasting"
Ihe experts in insanity are very unwill-
lrg Ia talk on the subject. limiting with
The usual professional deliCacy. that it
would not be- regular" The three great
eat names in the United States in cOnnec-
zion with nervous and mental disorders
are DR.. + C. SpItZka, William Ham
mond and f.. {. Seguin. The last named
Is now In Eur The other gentlemen
Willingly furnish a few figures from their
private practice, supply IA a little general
Information Of the subject and refer the
inquirer to their published works for fur
ther particulars. As the figures Of the
experts themselves differ very greatly. as
the asylum statistics are not accepted by
faulty classification Of patients. and as
the treatiSe- consist principally of cita-
tions from foreign authors and technical
terms, the lay seeker after knowledge Is
almost dlsheartenel at the outset
ONLY MILDLY ECCENTRIC
Many man confined in an asylum or
under private treatment to-day said DIR.
Spltzka, would have been considered
only mildly eccentric thirty years ago.
The fellows who used to 20 wild on the
Pacific coast in lS49 -, and be told off
by Judge Lynch, were in many cases pa
retiC dement's. The same is true of some
Of the cowboys of to day. 1t is not that
the number Of cases of insanity has in
creased out Of proportion to our increase
OF population. but that watchfulness and
proper classification have brought the
total up to surprisingly large figure.
The intense mental struggle for existence
In America has, undoubtedly sweilei the
ranks OF ptretic dement's The panic Of
1873 DEVELOPED large number OF cases
among the upper classes, as did the
crash of lss3, but matters seem to be
about at stantstill now. look, how
ever, for further increase of paretic de-
mentia among the lower classes owing to
the late strikes"
Does paretic disease ever occur among
women
1T undoubtedly does. although certain
eminent alleuistS maintain the contrary
The proportion Of females 70 males IS
about As one to eight-sume say one 10
five In group Of tifty-eight paretic de-
ments | found but one female Out of q
total Of III deaths OF paretic dement's on
Blackwell island, nine were Of females
You see women are not subjected to the
same intense mental strain as men Bar
ring alcoholic and physical excesses as
causes, the disease seems to attach itself
% women only when they pursue voca-
IONS wherein they are brought into &C
tive mental competition with men"
What natiOnalities in the United States
are most numerOusly afflicted with this
disease"
The Anglo SaxOns constitute a little
over l3 per cent. Of the whole number af-
fected; Celts y per cent. Germans about
Ii per cent, Hebrews 10 per cent. aud ne
Groes per cent. The ScandinavianS,
Dutch, Scotch, Italians and Sclavs have
a larger proportion of their insane among
the paretic dement's than the nationalities
represented by lars.r numbers"
frA--a-r-rVfs fs-..rs..-----------.sr sr----
PaTesis Is Il peculiarly rich, Intellectual
or pleasure sevkIug mans disease In
a
sician in It's earlier stages. and its progress
is retarded for years perhaps In many
Cases remissions and apparent recoveries
Of few years duration have been ef-
fected While poor people are less liable
to attack by II, their cases are almost
hopeless when the symptoms become pro-
nounced, and their decline into the grave
Is very rapid They are not able to pay a
skilled physician to treat them in the ear
lier stages, and therefore run ignOrantly
at large until an explosion occurs, when
they are summarily thrust into an asylum
where they must take such treatment as
they can get. The order of frequency Of
occurrence is as follows: Males Of the up
per classes. males of the lower classes.
females Of the lower classes, females of
the upper classes.
Another feature is that the disease is
usually developed when the patient is be-
tween 20 and ~ years of age. About 35 IS
the most common period. IL is possible at
the age OF -, rare at p, rare at 6O, and al
most unheard Of at 70. This tendency TO
strike men down in their prime of man
hood, and in the very midst of glorious
work and achievements, is one Of the sad
that has fascinated public
attention.
As to the durability of the disease, even
when taken in its earliest stages, opinions
of neurolOgists and alienists differ diane
triCally One class of specialists maintain
that it has been and can be cured; while
another sneerngly says that the cases
were not those Of genuine paretic demen-
tia, or that the so-Called cures were but
protracted remiss ions.
On this point DR. Hammond says: Il
have never had the good fortune TO wit
hess a single case of cure; neither have
uOtiCed one in which there was a complete
disappearance Of every symptom of the
disease. Many such have been reported,
however, 10y authorities that can not be
questioned They mum Der, perhaps, loo
all told, but are scarcely to be considered
when compared with the large number OF
cases that have gone steadily to fatal
DR.. SpitZka says: The durability Of the
disease is to-day regarded as little more
likely, and the cases last much longer,
owing TO the earlier recognition and
proper management st. Louis Globe
Democrat
CasuIng UueCzs n --~----
The fact that a Young EnZlishman.