The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1889-08-08
Dr.. Bro wn- saquard' S Elixir.

The use of yitalizing fluids in the
bodies OF animals as d means of prolong-
ing and inyigorating human life has
been recently advocated by DR.. Brown
Sequard after a series Of successful ex-
periments upon himself The details
were first recited in a paper read in
Paris before the Societe de Biologie, and
were received by the ,elrned audience
with a thrill of establishment and an air
Of scientific incredulity AS Dr. Brown
Sequard was in his seventy-third year
he was promising subject for hypo
dermic injections Of his new elixir of life,
and the emphasis with which he describ-
ed the freshness of youth puIsating
through his veins and the recovery of
impaired vital functions producted a
profound impression upon the physi-
oiogists and surgeons there assembled.
subsequently one OF his assistants, DR..
Variot, selected three debiliated men,
ranging in age from fifty four to sixty
eight, and turned the syringe upon them
with the result Of Immediately improv
ing their digestion, Increasing their mus
cular action, and also Of causing general
nervous excitement. Sufficient time has
not elapsed to enable DR.. Brown-Sequa
to Judge OF the permanent effects Of the
treatment Of these three patients; BUT he
lbs prepared for The Lancet q synop
sis OF his papers On the SUBJECT, aud Of
his own experience, with the reservation
that DR.. Variot's experiments SO far as
the results have been observed, strength
en- his own conclusions respecting the
potency OF the elixir.
Or. Brown-Sequard's preliminary ex-
periments were tried on animals in order
to prove the innocuity OF the elixir,
which was derived from the blood and
certain glands Of guinea-pigs and dogs
Before using the syringe upon himself
he tested the decoction by administering
it to fEr0 superannuated rabbits and
one old dog. After this dog had receiv-
ed twenty simultaneous injections
without harm he considered it safe to
operate upon himself. From May Is to
June / he made ten injections in his arms
and legs, using dark reddish fluid OBJ
tanned from the glands of very young
healthy adult dog and several guinea
pigs. The results were most surprising
Before the experiments upon himself he
was 50 weak hat he was Invariably com
PEELED to sit after working half an hour
in his laboratory; and Tor many years he
had been so exhausted after returning
home st clock as to be forced at once
to go to bed, where he would be too tired
to sleep. After the experiments he was
able to stand for three or four hours in
his laboratory and TO write III the even
ing for an hour and an half withouffeel
ing a sense Of WEAKNESS Instead OF
creeping and hobbling on a staircase, as
had been his habit in recent years, he
could ran up and down like a boy His
arms, tested in a dynanometer, regained
strength which they had not possessed
for twentysix years. Digestion and
other functions We're markedly improv-
ed. With regard to the facility Of intel
lectual labor, which had greatly dimin-
ished with advancing age, he records a
decided return to nor4nal conditions in
the prime Of life. In brief, all functions
depending on the spinal chord and ner-
vous centres were notably and rapidly
strengthened by the action of the wi
tailed principles Of the healthy dog
and the agile young guinea-pigs.
Having demonstrated in his own per-
son the efficacy Of his rejuvenating med
icine, DR.. Brown-Sequard, like the scien-
tilic investigator he is, stopped taking it
III order to ascertain how long the bene-
fetal results would last. For four weeks
there was no marked decline Of vitality.
but from July 3 there was complete re-
turn OF the pre-existing infirmities and
weakness Of old age. As he was no worse
than he had been before receiving the
first Injection ne phiosophlcalIy accept
ed the temporary loss of reinforced
strength as cnunterproof Of the vitaliz-
ing influence exerted by his elixir for a
month. With the borrowed resources
of another robust deg and a few more
guineapigs be calmly contemplates in
writing TO THE lancet the prospect Of
another months lease Of youth and manly
yigor He does not, however, claim the
merit OF discovering the secret Of per
petual youth, but rather OF easing the
burdens Of old age. He modestly gives
the results to the scientific world as a
basis for further experiment, expressing
q belief that while special nutritiye az
tions bringing on certain changes il Inen
and animals are absolutely fatal and IL
reversible, it is possible by means OF tie
yitalize;i clements used by him and the
three superapnuafed Paeisians to re-
eniow tissues, muscles and nerve-oentres
wife power once possessed but impaired
by the weight OF years. Popular faith