Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1903-10-09

ereu ROVER OF speech, and the Epf-
leptic Attacks Became Less Free
quent and Less severe-what "A
Physician Thinks of the Case.
Considerable interest has been at
tracted to the case Of Elsie Winkler of
New York, the sixteen-year-old girl
who has been under y ray treatment
for epilcptic fits at the Postgraduate
hospital in New York for several weeks
past. The girls case is the first in the
United States so far as is known In
which y rays have been employed in
the treatment of epileptic affections,
and the improvement of the patient
since the experiment has been In prog
ress has been marked, says the New
York Times.
The girls present malady followed an
attack of diphtheria when she was ten
years old, in which antitoXin was used.
The immediate consequence of the
diphtheria was the partial paralysis of
the right arm, and epileptic fits fol-
lowed in the course of a few weeks.
These increased in severity and fire.
quency as a year passed, until the
child's general condition became alarm
ing. Treatment by bromides failed to
relieve her, but seemed rather to de-
velop skin eruptions, which aggravated
her suffering.
When the girl was taken to the Post
graduate hospital some weeks ago, the
paralysis of the arm was such as to
render it useless, the fits were of daily
and sometimes semidaily occurrence,
and the child could not speak with suf-
ticient clearness to give an Ineligible
account of herself. Her mother, who
accompanied her, was obliged to state
the history of the illness.
Dr. j. II. Branth of New York sug.
gested treatment by y rays. The
mother consented, telling of the pre-
vious prescribing of bromides. These
were ordered discontinued, and the Y
ray treatment begun, as it has been
carried out during the subsequent
weeks. The immediate result was an
Improvement in the child's general con-
dition and speech and the diminution
of the skin eruption. Then the epilep-
tic attacks became less frequent and
less severe, until at the present time
they occur not oftener than once in
two weeks. The child has now so far
recovered her voice that she speaks
with distinctness, although slowly Her
complexion is nearly clear and her
weight considerably increased.
Further than to take cognizance of
the results of the y ray treatment In
this individual case, physicians famil-
lar with it are disinclined to speak.
DR.. Branth said that the use of y rays
in cases of epilepsy was a matter that
could not be determined by the devel-
opment of a single case, but he did not
hesitate to speak of the success SO far
attained in the present instance.
II will say so much," he said, that
whether the y ray treatment is shown
to act in epilepsy or not it may be ad-
vised in such cases for its beneficial
results on the general condition of the
patient. This girl in the Postgraduate
hospital has shown wonderful improve
ment in the few weeks in which she
has been under treatment"
DR.. Branth was asked to speak of the
pathological aspects of the case. He
said:
The conclusion must not be formed,
even if we are shown to be successful
in cases such as this one, that all cases
of epilepsy will yield to X ray treat
ment. In cases like that of this girl
the theory accepted at present for ex.
planning the disease is that its exist
ence depends upon cellular instability.
The primary seat of the convulson is
in the cortex of the brain and the Sec
ondary seat the medulla oblongata.
My belief is that if the X rays have ef-
feet it is in whipping together the
brain cells into normal action. That,
Of course, is entirely conjectural, be-
cause the theory of epilepsy is con-
jectural also"