The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-02-11

Two New Ideas Explained by DR.. Mitchell
to the Academy IT Medicine.

In a paper read before tn Academy Of Medicine
at n recent m '"tiHR I. n " Mitchell pu' forth
what h. believes to be two new ideas concerning
pulmonary tuberculosis one had reference Ia
tho possibility ~ cure Of the disease in the carly
stages, III" other pointed out that Their, may ba
tuberculosis without tuhcrclos, Ur
without the recognized specific bacillus of that
disease Dr Mitchell cited two particular eases
In his own practice which served as tyuical ones
for the illustration ofhis Two points. gave detailed
history Of each, and said that the deductions he
had made from the study of those two cases had
been borne out IN an cN perience with 500 oihrr.
In Aprll, 1894 he said, tso women called IN him
who were suffering greatly from pulmonary con
sumption They called on the zane dav. Neither
was known to III" other Both were married.
They were both 20 years old. Each expected to h.
confined within u month To him the cas- seemed
HOPELESS He told the husbands 50 and advised
that the wives should be sent away. The huS-
bands obl"c'"d aud requested that everything
possible should br done to make easier at their
homes such 81 life aS remained to their wives
III. Mitchell had been using for external aulli
cation To- liberated conditions a chlorine prerara-
tioa, the composition Of which he detailed to the
\cademy i contained one 81 the acids Of the
gastric lulCh. hydruchlOrlc ACld, and the ldpa
suggested itself 10 the doctor that IT would hr
readily absorbed in the stomach and introduced
dir 'Clly into the blood, and so sent promptly
through the lungs, and that II II healed ulcers at
the surface II The body 1t might heal the tubcrcu
lous alterations in the lungs of his two IA TENTS.
Besides The lydrochloTiC acid, the medicine con
tanned various hypochlorIteS, the proportions Of
which were all explained I" the Ncademy None
should prove poisonous as they We're combined
10 the human system, and lr. Mitchell gave him
self a dose to learn wha effect the stun would have.
II gave his stomach q very comfortable sensation.
he said, and he decided to give some to his patients.
The women began Ia improve with its uSa. The
children were born we'll Onr 81 the mothers
was treated for consumption for a year and a half
and the other for twenty one months, Al the
expiration uf those periods the women had recoy
yered health They had ceased To cough and
examination failed to reveal any evidences Of the
disease, Each had IN the interval again become
n mother
The symptoms exhibited by each had been
identical, but there proved to be one ma rkpd df
ference IN their condition. Ir Mitchell had the
SImtum examined from Tim" to time That Of
one showed until the conclusion IT IN" course II
treatment many bac1lI, that Of the other at no
time revealed u single hArilns 81 tuberculosis.
This discovery led Or Mitchell to the belief that
there must h. two kinds uf consumption, one whrr,
the bacillus is present and one where II i not.
In the case Of the woman who had the haCllli. n
was necessary To- continue the treatment a few
months longer than With her who had no hacilli
Ia an aggregation of 600 cases between the spriur,
Ut 1884 aud date, Ur. Mitchell told the Academy
thai he had noted the absence Of the bacillus IN a
little morp than twenty per cent. Of them rs IN
the first, or eN parlmental instance, those PATIENTS
recovered n little sooner who had no hHcilli. This
difference in form Of the disease and tho chlorine
treatment Dr. Mitchell thought opened new lines
for professional Investigation.