El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-29
The Gautier Cure
For Consumption.

I have just had a long conversation
with Prof. Armand Gautier, member OF
t,e institute of Franc and professor
of chemistry at the faculty OF medl-
cine of Paris, on the subject OF the ne"
treatment for consumption invented pS
him not quite three years ago. Inc
great doctor. who Is a typical french
sayant and has to perfection the iat-
ter's delightful courtesy in ana
admirable Iucidity in the explanation
of a scientific subject, very obligingiy
volunteered to expound briefly his own
method to me for the readers OF the
Daily Telegraph. and at the same time
to give me a concise expose OF the more
general question of the treatment OF
phthisis by arsenic. Before reproducing
as far as possible in his own words,
for no other could be clearer or more
to the point-the miniature CONFER
ence' which the learned professor was
good enough to deliver in his study
this morning TO an audience consisting
only of your correspondent, 4 must sue
cinctIy state the position occupied by
Mr.. Gautier's method with regard TO
other ~arsenical treatments OF phth1sis,
particularly that adopted by Dr.. Hon.
of Vienna. The facts are that the
French professor has broken absolutely
new ground. and has been working on
entirely new lines for over two years
and a half past. His method bears no
relation to that of DIR. Hon, apart, OF
course. from the bare fact of the ad-
ministration of arsenic, which in It
self is not a discovery, but a practice
as old as the hills. Nor does the real
difference etwee the two treatments
lie in the actual manner in which the
arsenic is administered to the patient.
although it is a fact that NJ Gautier.
contrary to DIR. Hoff's method. pre-
scribes hypodermic injections only, and
never preconises assimilation of his
drug by the digestice organs.
The essential distinction which diff
ferentiates the French professors
method from all others is the nature of
the arsenical compound which he adj
ministers. This is cacodylic acid. dis
covered by the great German chemist.
Bunsen, sixty years ago. NJ. Gautier
was the first. upwards of three years
since, to think of applying this drug
to the treatment of consumption. IN
the use of this organic compound of
arsenic lies the whole secret of NJ. Gau-
tiers method, and the secret of the eff
cacy of the substance itself is that it
is the only form of arsenic which is
safely assimilated b ythe system. In
the form of arsenious acid the poison
can only be given in minute doses, and
even then, as will appear from NJ. eau
tiers figures below, proves harmful to
the great majority of persons. Thus,
though the curative powers of arsenic
have been known. or at least suspected
from time i~mmemorial, they have ev-
er hitherto been turned to full account.
owing to the invincible obstacle of the
refusal to the system to simila It,
But Bunsen'S compound has been prov
ad nv NJ Cantor hpvOn6 the shadow
of a doubt to be absolutely innocuous.
In the form. therefore, of cacodylic
acid, arsenic can now be administered
safely in sufficient quantities to prove
an efficient agent against consumption
In brief NJ. Gautier's method continues
the ancient practice of arsenical treat
ment of phthisis. But the all-import-
ant and essential innovation which
he has introduced has been to admin
lister the drug in a form which had
never been before tried in this sense,
and which has been found to be al ed-
mirably efficacious remedy. AS often
happens, what would have seemed at
first to be unscientific mind a minor
Improvement of a method in a mere
matter of detail has turned out to be a
wonderful discovery, entirely revolu-
tionizing the therapeutic treatment of
a dread disease.
raul IduIlcT. " WuOL1 Il Hdu pit-
viously communicated the articles on
the subject of DIR. Hoff's cure in the
Daily Telegraph, reads English very
well, so that when l called this morn
ing I found IN to have completely
mastered b contents of my cuttings.
He said that he would willingly give
me any information on the subject, but
would first like to know whether 1 was
a doctor. Replying in the negative, l
asked him to be good enough to shape
his explanation of his method accord
ingly. Beginning at once, he pointed
out that the use of arsenic in various
such as malaria and consump-
ton, was an ancient practice. The
Greeks treated certain maladies by adj
ministering the residue powders of
copper smelling furnaces, and these
powders are now known to De chiefly
arsenical. The potency of the metal
loid, he continued, has always been
recognized, but the great difficulty has
been hat it is not supported by the
SYSTEM! Not five persons in 100 toler-
ate arsenic, even in the minutest dos
es. NJ. Gautier's attention was drawn
to the possibilities of arsenical treat
ment of phthisis in particular by the
studies of the medical schools of Pisa
and Lyons on the subject. But it was
not till four years ago that the idea
occurred to him of the innovation
which has proved so important.
Uses OF Cacodylic Acid.
Cacodylic acid, discovered by the
late Chemist Bunsen, in 1912, had new
er been made use of in medicine. NJ.
Gautier thought of applying it at first
for the treatment of skin diseases, and
recommended IL some six or seven
years ago to a colleague at St. Louis
Hospital, who tried the compound with
some success in cases of psoriasis, &C.