St. Paul daily globe., 1892-12-27
CURE FOR EPILEPSY.
Important Medical Discovery by
Prominent New York
Physician.
Fluid Prepared From the Vital
Organs OF sheep Cure
for Epilepsy.

Iof fpllepSy.
New YORK, Dec. 26.-Dr. Paul Gibler,
president Of the New York Bacterolog
ical society and director of the Pasteur
institute, read All interesting paper be-
fore the Medical Society of the County
OF New York at the Academy of Medi-
cine in West ForIy-third street, tonight.
on "A New Agent in the Treatment of
Epilepsy" In it he tells the results of
a scientific treatment which be has ap-
piled to class of patients for the first
time III this country or elsewhere. The
treatment is i'll line with that which
has excited interest in scientific
medical circles IN France, and Is step
in advance of the method employed i'll
a somewhat similar treatment I'D Paris.
The material used is prepared from the
vital organs of sheep after it has under
gone certain treatment in the labratOry
of the Pasteur institute. The injections
were made daily in each side of the pa
tient, just above the hip bone.
DR.. Gibler says some, two years ago
an account was published in the French
medical journals of an epileptc patient
treated at the PaSteur institute in Paris.
for the bite of a mad dog, who was cured
of his epilepsy by the anti-rabic inJec-
tonS. More recently other accounts of
the cure of epilepticS by injections
of the rabc virus had been pub
lished, and public interest had been
aroused in the new treatment. Be
fore an opportunity was offered
to competent critics to examine
the remedy or the statements of patients
who were supposed to be cured, and
also without waiting for the test as to
hnIx tnA
and more than one hypothesis of its
mode of action was proposed. Dr.. Glib
! ler said that upon one observation it
was established that some patients had
their seizures checked, at least tempo
rarity, after the injections OF the anti
rabic virus. After some remarks upon
the nationality of the cure and the nor
NAL functions of the nervous system re-
stored, Dr.. GibIer said that he had
been enabled by the courtesy of Charles
L. Dana, visiting physician at Bellevue
hospital, to make number of Ubserva-
tionS extending over six months OF the
effect of anti-rabc inoculations upon
persons afflicted with epilepsy.
He held that one OF these patients
furnished him with all observation
which seemed to show that as far as
cure for epilepsy is concerned we can
not expect much from the Pasteur in
jections. The patient, man of thirty
two years, an epileptic from infancy,
had been treated with the anti-rabic i'll
jectiOnS for eighteen years, and not
only did the epileptic commissions con-
tinue, but they increased III number.
DR.. GibIer said he was not surprised at
this failure, inasmuch as he mad learned
Indirectly that the cause of the timely
announcement of the cure of epilepsy
by the anti-rabic inoculationS WAS due
to the fact that disease had been tenn
porarily stopped during and after the
inoculatlonS In two young epileptlcS
who had been bitten by mad dogs and
treated at the Paris PaSteur institute.
DR.. Gibier ascertained that in the in
jections given at the Pasteur institute.
by which temporary relief seemed to
have beer afforded to some patients,
the rabic virus was not injected at one
but in ASSOCIATION with large amount
of nervous substance, and therefore 1T
occurred to him that if any benefit had
been derived from these injections 1t
might be attributed to the nervous mat
ter and not to the contained virus. Con-
sequently he determined to test the
treatment with the injection of extract
of gray nervous substance which he
called nervine. The fluid was pre-
pared according to the StricteSt rules
OF bacteriologies H. order to
avoid fatal accidents, and it was made
perfectly antiseptic. The doctor said
that the idea of the new treatment was
derived from the. method proposed by
DR.. Brown-Sequard, who thinks that
fluids extracted from young and healthy
organs can give to those which are al
normal and Senile the attributes OF
young and healthy. Dr.. GiDler then
gave an account of the results he had
obtained with the use of his nerylne i'll
cases of epilepsy. In reference to the
case of young Frenchman who be-
longs to family with an epileptIc his
tory, DR.. GibIer said:
Before being subjected to this treat
ment he was almoSt continually III
state of epileptic vertigo, losing con-
seriousness momentarlly several times
daily; he had persistent headache
and very severe seizure at least once
weekly. His memory aud his mental
powers were decreasing steadily, and
his face had very idiotic expression.
He had been subjected TO various forms
of treatment without much improve
ment. Under the influence OF
the injections, administered five
times weekly, and without any
other remedy. his condition I'M
proved remarkably. The severe at
/ tacks diminished in number and grav-
ity. He recovered consciousness very
rapidly after the seizures, without per-
sistens headaches. The idiotic express
sion disappeared. and he was more in
4 itelligent. One of the most interesting
results was the disappearance, which is
only present when the treatment is in-
terpreted. Instead of four or five vlo-
ilent attacks in the period of month. he
was one month and half without any
symptoms of morbus sacer. Today he
received only two injections of SIX cubic
centimeters weekly, and for two months
his Improvement has been most salts