The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-03
BONES TURN TO JELLY.
A Very Peculiar Disease Which Is
seldom Arrested.

Mollities ossiun, osteomalacia and mala-
costeon are the formidable sounding
names by which very peculiar disease
is technically known. To simplify matters
and at the same time prove descriptive,
the disease has very aptly been called
'jelly-bone disease"
The disorder is of a constitutional ma
ture and is characterized by the gradual
softening of the bone substance, thus
rendering it liable to be bent or broken
with the greatest ease.
1t is as rare as it is extraordinary. Very
little is definitely known about it.
In some cases a hereditary predisposI-
ton has been traced. 1t occurs mucn
more frequently in females than in males
(the proportion is about u to u and is a
disease of adult life. It usually affects
people between 80 and 50 years old
The popularity of the disease is that
the inner portion of the bone, that is, the
marrow, is gradually destroyed or con-
Verted into a jelly-like substance.
The process extends from the marrow
outward, and gradually destroys the sol
id or compact portion of the bone, until
nothing but a mere shell is left When
this happens there is great danger OF
fractures, simple muscular contraction
sometimes being sufficient to fracture a
large bone.
When the entire bone is involved and the
softening process is complete the bone
may be tied in a knot, the same as a
bone which has been decalcifed by macer-
ating it in muriatic acid.
A celebrated case occurred in England
several years ago. Upon pOSt-mortem ex-
animation il was found that both thigh
bones could be bent and twisted as if
they were rubber.
A person afflicted with this disease is
practlcally helpless, as there is great dam
ger of fractures or distortion of bones,
The principal theories advanced as to the
cause of this disease are an impover-
ished and acid condition of the blood. lac.
tic, carbonic or phosporic acid in the svs-
TEN, which dissolves the lime salts out Of
the bone and produce the condition from
which the disease derives its name.
Another theory as to the cause and one
which is more or less suppOrted nv Ct
tistics, is that the people who live smona
hlthy surroundings (the conditions which
predlspose TO typhus and other filth dis.
eases are much more liable to this dis
ease than those whose sanitary environ
meat is of a higher order
stale triut, vegetables and other articles
OF Giet are said to play an important part
IN causing the disease.
A very peculiar feature of this disco 90
is that, unlike cancer and other bone dis
eases, which usually attack one bone. II
attacks many bones-in fact the enfir,
skeleton IS more or less involved
There are cases recorded where peoole
nave apparently been in the best of
health to the last
In these cases the disease is nor tb
actual cause of death. The change in Inc
bones progresses until finally the rfbs
become so soft that as a result of atrnos-
pheric pressure the heart and breathir,,
apparatus are embraced, thus puttinc- az
10 the patients existence. $3.50
Although the disease is usually consif-
cred incurable, there are executions r.
this rule, and cures have been rcnOrta1
The cases, however, were all recognizeG
in the very early stages of the disease,
that prei1t lions OF lime, cod-lfver oil
and a good diet go far toward ir1provi1te-.
the condition and sometimes effectInf q
cure, provided the disease has not made
When a patient RECEIVERS there is al
ways a loss Of stature.