Omaha daily bee., 1890-12-14

1t is highly dangerous and indscreet to have
an unknown and untried fluid In use by inc,
perts. 1t is pity to have 1t used upon men
in all stages of disease and non-dlseaso when
those who use it should at least know what
elaborate experiments have proved. 81 can
not express an opinion as to the reason why
the lymph only affects tho tissues inhabited
10y the oacilli until Koch tells what it is made
Of We must have tuberculosis tissue taken
from living patient before the lymph is ap-
piled, and tissue taken from the samo spot
after treatment to Judge what the action Is.
Otherwise we may mistake the changes
caused by the disease itself for the changes
caused by the lymph. The best cure have
found is the action Of the lymph in cases of
tubercuouis affections of the larynx. Under
ordinary treatment tubercles form on the
edge of the vocal bands, and finally
they are detached leaving behind them
ulcers which we can readily heal but the diff
ticulty has been these tubercles develop so
slowly that by the time one set of tuberclcs
has detached themselves another set springs
III another place. Koch accelerates the
growth and segregation of tubcrcles in the
larynx so greatly and they arc full grown and
detached so quickly that before new ones ap-
pear he can heal the whole larynx. 1t is very
clear to me the lymph is dangerous
to children and persons in an ad-
vanced stage of phthisis. In the case of chill
dren 1T brings on perilons Inflammation of
the lungs, and in advanced phthisis 1t is apt
to destroy the lungs. In cases of tuberCuar
meningitis the fluid is likely to cause fatal
inflammation of the brain tissues. No
doubt the remedy brings on astonishing
changes in lupus and apparent cures have
been affected so far in tuberculosis of the
lungs. Some ases in early stages of the dis
ease show slight improvement The patient
claims he feels better. His weight improves
and there is less sputum, but my opinion is
these results are mostly psychological. The
patients mind and system are affected and
stimulated by the knowledge that he is re-
ceiving new remedy which is said to act
quickly. No tests made now in this time of
excitement are worth much. We must have
period of quiet before the real search be-
fore the results can be made known For
patients must be in normal condition and
take year or two efore we can tell whether
Koch's remedy is effective for phthisis. 1t is
possible that by the end of careful expert
mentng of two or three years we may be
able to use this lymph successfully-in COM
bination with some other compound and so
conquer pthisis in it's first forms.
II do not admit that DR.. Koch's lymph is a
perfect diagnostic of all forms of disease
caused by the tubercle bacllli 1t is
a diagnostic and very remarkable, but
in the few days occupied by the
present public experiments we already
find the fluid provoked reaction
where no bacill existed, and failed to act
where baci were found The point / make
is that the lymph is not an absolutely certain
diagnostic. There is one good service which
it renders science. IL proves that several
differing maladies are caused by the same
bacilii, such as lupus, strumus bone and joint
tn berculosis and phtsisis."
When 1 asked Virchow what he thought Of
the announcement that professor in Scot
land had discovered the microbe of cancer,
he laughed and said "With God everything
Is possible. Great Is Allah! had an idea
that cancer existed without microbe, but if
Russell discovered one, then mako an
humble bow to the microbe and also to the
detector.n
Before DR.. Loomis left for New York l
interviewed him. He said II was skeptical
at first, but now consider the lymph the
greatest medical discovery Of modern if not
VI ali uilileS L saw, yeSueruay, III Dr. V on
Bergmaun's private wards, an Englishman
cured of nine years of lupus with sixteen
injections of less than eighth of drop.
The lymph, diluted, cured him of what was
considered an absolutely fatal disease. All
around me were cases of wonderful
cures. Prof. Won Leyden, the great internal
medico, would use lymph on his own child
if the occasion should necessitate it''
10 IN a
cases Of lung tuberculosis and advised the use
of the lymph.
DIR. LOOMS said that every drop Of the fluid
was worth at least $1,000, as a diluted drop
will furnish over one hundred and thirty in
iections of average strength and any reputa-
BILE American physician can get 800 for each
injection, as phial contains about ninety
drops. Its present actual commercial value
is $4,000. The doctor said drop was worth
three times more than fine diamond of the
same size.