The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-01-23
ELECTRICITY CURES NEURALGIA,
4he Migratory Principle Applied to the
Head by An Electrical Helmet.

EtdCtpIS ADpued to tho
Head by An Electrical helmet.
Among all the methods more or less
d In appearance applied to the treat
ment OF nervous diseases, there are few
more original than the one that has been
employed for some time at the Saline
trlere by Professor Charcot. 1t is the
treatment by mechanical vibrations.
1here is a serious disease of the nerv-
Gus system, characterized by an inces-
SAINT trembling Of the hands, a STOPPING
attitude and an odd gait, that makes it
seem as II the invalid was going to pre-
clpltate himself head foremost. 1t is
the trembling palsy, also called Parkin-
sons disease, a sort of painful nervous
disorder that deprives the unfortunate
who IS afflicted with it of rest and sleep.
Mr.. Charcot a long time ago learned
from some invalids who were troubled
with this infirmity that they derived de-
clded relief from long rides on a railroad
or in a carriage. The more the vibra-
tons caused in the compartments by the
train running at full speed, and the more
the carriage was jolted over an uneven
pavement, the more the relief expert
enced. At the end of a days journey
they felt better and experienced an mex
pressible comfort. One Of them con-
ceived the idea of having himself
wheeled about for hours in one of those
heavy carts used for carrying paving
stones. Contrary to the experience of
all travellers, those afflicted with trem-
bling palsy felt fresher and more active
on alighting from the cars. The longer
the trip lasted, and the worse the line,
the more durable was their improvement.
Such testimony, coming from various
sources, was not lost. 1t was for Mr..
Charcot the starting point of a most
curious therapeutical application. Mr..
Charcot had an armchair constructed,
to which a to and fro motion was given
by means of an electrical windlass.
Long before the invention of the vibrat-
ing armchair DR.. Vigouroux conceived
the idea of submitting hysterical patients
to the vibration of a huge tuning fork.
In this way he cured an8sthesias and
muscular stiff joints. Other physicians
Boudet, of Paris, and Mortimer, of
Granville, applied vibrating rods to the
treatment of neuralgias facial neuralgia
in particularly and headaches. Granville
devised a small electric hammer, anal
ogous to the hammer of electric bells,
and that was applied to the painful
point. Under the influence of the shock,
repeated hundreds of times within a
short period, the pain ceased.
The method was some time ago singu-
larly improved by DR.. ellis de la Tour
cite, a pupil of Mr.. Charcot. He had an
apparatus constructed for the treatment
of megrims and nervous headaches; it
was the vibrating helmet. Imagine a
helmet of the model Of that Of old times,
and very analogous, as to structure, to
the conformation of hatters. It is in
fact formed of steel plates that permit
of its fitting the head perfectly. Upon
this helmet, in lieu of crest, there is a
small alternating current motor of pc
culiar construction that makes about
600 revolutions per minute. At every
revolution a uniform vibration is propa-
gated to the metallic plates, and is trans
mitted to the Uranium that they embrace.
The cranial walls thus vibrate in their
| ensemble, and the vibrations are natur-
| ally transmitted to the entire cerebral
| apparatus. The sensation is not dis
agreeable. The number and intensity
of the vibrations, moreover, may be
varied according to the tolerance Of the
| subject. In d few minutes a sort of gen
| eral lassitude is experienced. with a
tendency to sleep.
The vibrating helmet has already been
applied to a large number of neuras-
| thenic invalids, the majority Of whom
have experienced good results from it.
The process succeeds also against hemi.
crania, and as this is quite a common
affection, for which no surely eficacious
remedy is known. the helmet will in a
| short time be seer to come into vogue
Nature.