Telegram-herald., 1889-05-16
ALL ABOUT PAREsIs.
Al Insidi00s Disease Witch De-
stroys Many brain-H orksrs-
Fhs rhsOries II Soaae aOted htssleA-Hs-
ozos Asuaetsa vita ts.s br4isa- Destroy
%, the rsueEts OHly Hope 80
gLs sCE2ss-frsHetGelt A0tlaAs-

mere t12n any other people on earn a
owes UFLAsDt m&rk, aad tie osst eo1
bralnlsst u our lsLS beoozne Us pTes- II Is
iacarao4e Mnen oace within rs clGsches
tue subject uDdsrEoes . hylng ceAte'
slow, tortlogs, deceptive enc. oGs 49, LAS
DARK river Is inevitably reached
There are many causes which induce
pare. .s--overwork. overindUlgeuce Ia aloo-
hose beverages, tobacco on nArooucs or
other exeesses-
Paoo.e of small rneutal csliber need not
fer paresls. provided they do net erpgle
heir OraiEs By oyerIndulgeoo IA liquor.
statistics show that bat one per cent Of
the cases reported are women
From lie time when the rTst traces Of
the disease are apparent but three years are
required 20 cons gu the patient 10 the grave
There are cases where the victim iingeFs on
for twelve or fourteen years, 1his only eo-
c-rs where the subject Is given 10 alcoholic
and narcotic excesses and possesses IA ad-
ditl0n great physical powers For three
quarters OF that period he Is a pitiaDls signi-
HIS frame is without the slightest spark or
Life, his eyes are lgsteriess, his muscles
fabby and fiesh Ike that OF corpse. Ia
word, be is helpless idiot, tortured by
dark hallucingtions, tormeE,ed by physical
fears, and death finally comes as glad re-
lease.
Brilliant men are the first 10 fall beneath
its lnsidious advances. Bankers, lawyers,
editors, actors, playwrights and even doc
tors compose the greater part OF the roll OF
It's victims. Ia the very fact that its prog
rcss is insiGious the danger lies. When
the symptoms are discovered the patient
has gone beyond hope Of recovery. Once
the work Of mental disinteragtion begun,
the only end is the grave.
The striking peculiarly Of paresis, para
doxical as the statement may seem, Is Its
apparent suddenness. A strong, vigorous
man, in the prime of life-the president OF
railroad, II you p!ease-a man endowed
with physical and mental attributes 10 an
extraordinary degree, IS suddenly stricken
down and compelled 10 take long rest. he
goes TO Europe, visits the land OF the Cid,
wanders about the catacombs and inhales
the breezes Of the Mediterranean at Monte
Carlo. He finally returns 10 work, but is
incapable of effort. DE leaves his desk.
The process of mental disinteragtion goes
on and the inevitable end is calmly waited.
This case is like thousands Of others.
When the victim shows the first symptoms
his "breaking down" is thought TO be due TO
overwork Friends urge that a brief rest
VIII re store him TO his usual condition. IL
does not The mind grows weaker. The
body, strange to say, seems TO develop.
Finally the mind becomes warped, dark
pictures come before il, and the body fails.
The patient can not sleep, has excruciating
pains in the head, eats abnormally, but
without preserving the physical powers, and
finally the body, like the mind, wastes away
to a mere skeleton. Then comes death.
Sometimes the victim rallies bit. He
seems TO regain in measure his mental
control, and is permitted 10 test his strength
| of intellect again in business professional
pursuits. Then the reaction comes quick
and sudden. The mind resumes its defect
i've condition; the same phantasmagorlH
affiict it; the same painful hallucinatiOns
terrify it. Then comes the end.
Dr. Allan McLane Hamilton, the famous
specialist and a recognized authority upon
mental diseases, gave New York Star re-
porter few facts about the remarkable
| disease:
"Paresis," said DR.. Hamilton, sis fire.
qucntly misunderstood by many people. 1t
is generally supposed TO be insanlty-pure
and smple-with new name. IL is the
fashion nowadays 10 call all forms Of men
tai disturbance paresis. 1t is paralyzing
! Of the nerve fibers. The disease has in
creased alarmingly in this country within
|
can learn is dependent directly upon vice
and not upon the overworking of the BRAIN
Alcoholism frequently induces it.
"Ihave seen innumerable cases of paresis
in the asylums, and many in my private
practice, and find, as rule, that the disease
attacks persons who are primarily dissipat-
ed and who are addicted 10 a great or irrog-
| ular amount of mental work. Generally the
| first symptoms begin with feelings Of de-
spOndency or depression, which Is followed
after a time by wonderfully extravagan'
ideas. Some subjects believe that they car
make enormous wealth by carrying out q
scheme or idea they cherish. Others be
lieve they have heaven born mission TO dc
something good and great for their fellow
man, such as the establishment OF new
faiths or doctrines. The schemes are al
ways colossal. The victim of paresis never
entertains any thing small. When under
the domination Of these delusions tho sub
sect is likely 10 treat with violence any on,
who questions his powers or belief.
AFTER this period has passed away
there may be cessation of the symptom
OF paresis, and his friends begin TO hops
that the patient may recover. This perio,
may last FIVE or six months, but with th'
certainty Of fate the apparent soundness o
mind vanishes, and the wild mental pict
ures return with greater force than before
The disease then makes Its way, with prob
ably recurring periods OF sanity, but the,
are always shorter, and the inevitable ent
comes.
"With the progress Of the disease tn
frame wastes away, the strength leave
the patient, the muscles become fiabby an
general paralysis sets in. Al tho last stag
Of his illness the patient becomes devoid Q
consciousness, incapable OF motion, his eye
are lustericss, saliva oozes from his moUt
ard be fades away from earth.
Men ere almost always the victims o
paresis, and they generally vary in AZ
from forty 10 forty-fve years. Only On
per cent or theresbout OF known cases 0
paresis are women. Alcohol and overwor
in an irregular way ard in irregular hour
are the causes Of parests.
, Excessive mental work. with reooGrs
70 narcotics, alcohol or other stimulant'
frequently causes psresis. This is frt
ouently exemplifie3 ia the case Of bankers
I LAWYERS, journalists and others who insis
on working sixteen hours day, and wh
employ stimulants 70 keep ID Their stTsngt
instead Of getting natural rest"
Among the distinguished people of th
/ great and busy land who have died frui
paresis caused by intoxicstlng their ncnti
strength are wuber =. Storey, proprietS
! ( Of the Chicago Tines, John Mccullough az
/ Rarflev CaTuteu