Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-08-12
BROwN-sEQUARD's WORK.
How the Scientist Describes the Action
of the Fluid Upon Himself.

In the London Lancet of July 20 DR.. Brown.
Bequard has paper describing his expert.
melts with the fluid which has since become
popularity known as the elixir of Life" The
doctor first describes the method Of preparing
the fluid, which he obtained from certain
glands Of dogs and guinea pigs mingled with
distilled water. For each of the subcutaneou,
injections made upon his own person he use6
one cubic centimeter Of the distilled liquid. He
said; / have made ten subcutaneous infections
Of such hquid-two in my left arm, all the
others in my lower limbs-from May Is tc
June A last. The first five injections were
made on three succeeding days with liquid
obtained from a dog. In all the subsequent
injections, made May "a, 90 and 80 and June A
the liquid used came from guinea pigs. When
1 employed liquids having passed through
Pasteurs filter the pains and other bad effects
were somewhat less than when a paper filter
was used
Coming now to the favorable effects Of these
injections, beg to be excused for speaking so
much as i shall do of my own person. hope II
viii easily be understood that, IL my demonstra-
ton has any value-I will even say any signih-
cance--it Is owing to the details concerning the
state OF my health, strength and habits previ-
ousiy to my experiments, and to the effects
they have produced.
HIS STRENGTH MUCH IMPAIRED.
am 70 years old. My general strength,
which has been considerable, has notably and
gradually diminished during the last ten or
twelve years. Before May Is last Twas SO weak
that i was always compelled to sit down after
half an hours work in the laboratory. Even
when remained seated all the time. or almost
all the time, In the laboratory, used to come
out of it quite exhausted after three or four
hours experimental labor, and sometimes after
only two hours. For many years, on returning
home in q carriage by o'clock after several
hours passed in the Laboratory, ex-
tremely tired that invariably had to go to bed
after having hastily taken a very small amount
of food. Very frequently the exhaustion was
SO great that, although extremely sleepy,
could not for hours so to sleep, and only
slept very little, waking up exceedingly tired.
The day after the first simultaneous injection,
and still more after the two succeeding ones, a
radical change took place in me and had am
pie reason to say and to write that had re-
gained at least all the strength possessed a
good many years ago. Considerable laboratory
work hardly tired me. To the great astonish-
mert of my two principal assistants-Drs. D. Ar
sonval and Hubocque-and other persons l was
able to make experiments for several hours
while standing up, feeling no need whatever to
sit down. Still more, one day the 23d of May),
after three hours and quarter of hard expert
mental labor in the standing attitude, i went
home so little tired that after dinner was able
to 60 to work and to write for an hour and a
half part of paper on difficult subject
For more than twenty years had never been
able to do as much.
Ny friends know that. owing to certain cir
cumstances and certain habits, L have for thirty
or forty years gone to bed very early and done
my writing work IN the morning, beginning it
generally between and 4 o'clock. For a great
many years had lost all power of doing any
serious mental work after dinner. Since my
first subcutaneous injections have very fire.
quently been able to do such work for two,
three, and one evening for nearly four hours.
RUNNING UP STAIRS AGAIN.
From natural impetuosity and also to avoid
losing time had till was sixty years old the
habit of ascending and descending stairs so rap
idly that my movements were rather those of
running than walking. This had gradually
changed, and had come to move slowly up
and down stairs, having to hold the banister in
difficult staircases. After the second injection
found that had fully regained my old pow
ers and returned to my previous habits in that
respect
NV limbs, tested with dynamometer for
week before my trial and during the month
following the first injection, showed decided
gain Of strength. The average number of kilo-
grammes moved by the hexors of the right fore
arm before the first injection was about 34I
Crom 80 to 80, and after that injection Al
(from SO to "a, the gain being from to kilo-
grammes. In that respect the forearm fexors
reacquired in a great measure the strength
they had when was living in London (more
than twenty-six years ago.. The average num-
Der Of kilogrammes moved by those muscles in
London in 1853 was 43 90 to AZ kilogrammes).
have record of the strength of my fore
arm, begun in March, 1860. when L first estab-
hshed myself in London. From that time to
1862 / occasionally moved much as so kilo-
grammes During the last three years the
maximum moved was 50 kilogrammes. This
year. previously to the first injection the maxi
mum was 81 hlogrammes. Since the injection
IL has been A.
With regard to the facility of intellectual
labor. which had diminished within the last
few years, return to my previous ordinary
CONDITION became quite manifest during and
after the first two or three days Of my expert
ments.
1t is evident from these facts and from some
others that all the functions depending on the
power of action of the nervous centers, and
especially of tine spinal cord, were notably and
rapidly improved by the injections have used.
The last Of these injections was made on June
4, about five weeks and a half ago. / ceased
making use Of them for the purpose Of ascer-
tanning how long their good effects would last
For four weeks no marked change occurred
but gradually, although rapidly, from the Sd of
this month July have witnessed almost a
complete return Of the state of weakness
which existed before the first injection. This
loss of strength is an excellent cOunterproof as
regards the demonstration Of the influence ex-
Ny hrst communication to the Paris biologi-
cal society was made with the wish that other
medical men advanced in life would make on
themselves experiments similar to mine so as
TO ascertain, as then stated, # the effects had
observed depended or not on any special lido
syncrasy or on a kind OF auto-suggestion with
out hypnotization, due to the conviction which
i had before experimenting that should surely
obtain great part at least of these effects
This last superstition found some ground in
many OF the facts contained in the valuable and
learned work of DIR. Hack luke on the '.Infiu-
ence Of the Mind Over the Body" Ready as /
was 10 make on my own person experiments
which, If they we're not dangerous were at
least exceedingly painful, / refused absolutely
TO yield to the wishes of many people anxious
10 obtain the effects had observed on myself
Dr. vARIoT's ExPERINESTs
But, without asking my advice, DIR. yariot. a
physician who believed that the subcutaneous
injections Of considerably diluted spermatic
fluid could do no HARM has made a trial of that
method on three old men-one fifty-four an
other hfty-six and the third sixty-eight wears
On each of them the effects have been found to
be very nearly the same as those | have OBJ
tanned on myself. DR.. Variot made use of rab-
bits and guinea pigs.
These facts clearly show that il was not To a
peculiar idiosyncrasy of mind that the effects /
have pointed out were due. As regards the
explanation Of those effects by an auto-sug-
gestion, II Is hardly possible to accept it in the
case OF the patients treated by DIR. Variot
They had no idea of that WAS beinO dona tbay