The Topeka state journal., 1897-11-06
Is Much Criticised by Rival
Physicians in Frisco.
SHOWS HIS PATIENTS.
The Doctor Puts Twenty of
Them on Exhibition
As Living Proofs of the Value
of His Remedy.

cOvery of an alleged cure for consump-
ton.
The discovery is backed by the Coop
er Medical college. of whose faculty he
is a member, while those who deny his
claims belong to the rival college of
Physicians and Surgeons.
DR.. Hirschfelder and his supporters
claim that with the aid of Koch's tu-
bercuhn he has perfected oxytubercu-
lin or serum, which has cured advanced
cases of consumption in six months, and
he has scores of patients who bear tes-
timOny to the remarkable healing pow
ers of the serum. His opponents de
clare that he has simply used peroxide
of hydrogen in treating tubercuhn IN
stead of mOnOxide of hydrogen, winch
Koch employed, and that his method
isn't so good as KOch's because free per
oxide is left in the fluid after treat
ment, and must be expelled again by
extreme heat before the serum is ready
These critics also say that consump-
tive patients may be encouraged to be-
lieve anything about their condition
and that the new cure cannot be sald
to have any more value than those
brought out by Koch and others, which
proved dismal failures, until the pa
tfents treated show that their recovery
is permanent
Meanwhile they call attention to the
fact that HirSchfelder is selling his Sc
rum for 50 a bottle, and that many poor
consumptives will flock to San Francis
co. which, with its raw winds and cold
fOgs, has about the worst climate in the
world for persons suffering from tuber-
cuIosis.
DR.. HirschfeIder's discovery was first
heard of last April, when the announce
ment was made that he had perfected a
lymph which had been tried upon dogs
and had proved successful, and which
had also worked remarkable cures on
human beings. The lymph was injected
hypOdermically, and the patients, aIter
few 69ES. ceased to cough. An eX-
animation showed that the tubercules
We're healed by the action of the lymph
or serum, and in cases of laryngeal
tuberculosis this healing could be seen
plainly. DR. HiTschfelder sent an
nouncements of his experiments to
many medical journals and societies,
and from several sources received en-
coura cement.
The majority, however. appeared to
consider his work chimericaL
Last Sunday at the Cooper Medical
college. DIR. Hirschfelder exhibited 20
cOnsumptiVe patients who had been
cured by his remedy. Some were in ad-
vanced stages, and deep tubercules in
their lungs had not entirely healed, but
the Sputum which they cOughed tup
showed traces of bacilH- The shoew-
ing was so remarkable that when an
account of it was printed, with an ac-
count of DR.. HirSchfelder'S method of
producing the serum, it created
great sensation and caused much dis
cussiOn.
DR.. Hirschfelder worked on his cure
for two years, perfecting it. The work
required costly apparatus, and demand
ed large expenditures for KOch's tuber
culln. From Berlin, DR. HlrSchfeIder
has imported 81 600 worth of tuberculin,
and he has bought enough veal to feed
an army.
His method of perfecting oxytuber-
culin, put into simple English, is as fol-
lows:
Veal is soaked in water, and it's juice
is then expressed, boiled and filtered.
C1IUpaTipa nd a re mt
the liquid, which is made slightly aka
line with carbonate of soda. In this
liquid the germs of tuberculosis are
grown. When they are fully developed
the liquid, with the germs, is boiled and
filtered. The resultant liquid is tuber-
culin. The tubercuIin is the basis of
DR.. Hirschfelder's preparation. Perox-
ide of hydrogen is added. and the mix
ture is heated for 130 hours, at the end
of which time it is oxytuberculin. This
is clarified with a caustic soda solution
and per cent of boracic acid is put in
to keep it from decomposition. The
greatest care is necessary in all the de-
tails of max ng Oxytuberculin. All bot
ties and utel Sis used are Ster1hZed un-
der 100 degrees centigrade of heat.
DIR. Hirsch eelder claims that in his
use Of peroxide of hydrogen lies the
whole virtue of his discovery He de-
cIares that it makes valuable his serum
whereas Koch, working with monoxide
of hydrogen, produced serum that had
no permanent effect upon tuberculosis
For five days he adds peroxide of hy-
drogen to his tuberculin until he has
put in the same amount of peroxide a IS
of tuberculin. The peroxide is convert
ed into water, but IN this conversion 1t
removes the poison from the tubercu-
lin and fits it for curative purposes.
This oxytuberculin was first tested on
a dog. DR.. Hirschfelder inoculated a
healthy dog and produced all the
symptoms of consumption. The dog
had cough, lost flesh, and would not
eat. Then oxytuberculin was injected
and in a few days marked improve
ment was shown. In two months the
dog was as well as ever, and showed
no traces of the experiment.
Then the doctor was encouraged to
try OXytuberculin on several patients
who were willing to take the risk Tu-
healed rapidly, the cough stopped. and
the patients soon began to increase in
weight.
one patient with laryngeaI tubercu-
IOsis opend his mouth, and the doctors
were able to see scars of ulcers which
had healed In another patient, who
had been treated only a few weeks, the
cavities in the lungs had not healed
but the sputum was examined and it
betrayed no bacillf showing that the
serum killed the tubercules.
Opposition to Dr.. Hirschfelder's
claims comes from DR. S l. o. Potter
and his fellow members of the College
of Physicians and Surgeons Among
them are Drs. P. ]. Farrell and Wins
low Anderson. DR.. William McNutt
formerly of Nova Scotia and FeCOgniZ-
ed as leading gynecOlogist of this city
is also skeptical. They say that the
cure is of little more value than Koch's
famous cure, which was exploded by
PROFESSOR N1FchOW, and that it can be
successful only when tried on incipient
cases. They scout the idea of curing
advanced cases with serum or build
ing up radically diseased tissue. In
4act, DR.. Potter says that DR.. Hirsch-
NRlder'S whole scheme is to unauufac-