The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-10-21
RADIUM AS A REMEDY.
NEURALGIA CURED BY TWO APP.
PLlcATIoNS BY A SPECIALIST.

A. Darier, However, Undertakes to
Point Out That No Cure Has Been
Effected.
The Paris correspondent of the Lon
don Telegraph writes under recent
date:
DR.. A. Darier, well known physi-
clan and specialist for diseases of the
eye, has given me some particulars OF
his discovery regarding external treat
ment by radio-actiyity Of very low in
tensity, on which he read paper to
the Academy of Medicine lately. DR..
A. Darier's experiments in radium
treatment were begun last August,
when in a case of cancer of the socket
of the eye all pain was removed by ap-
pl1cation of radioactive salt. More re-
Gently he has obtained similar results
in neuralgia. One of his patients, a
well known writer on popular science,
suffered from acute rheumatic pains IN
both eyes, which no ordinary treatment
alleviated. DR.. Darier induced him to
try the effect of radium. A first appli-
cation totally removed the pain, which
however returned two days later. A
second application was made with an
equally favorable result. Now the pa
tient keeps on his writing table tube
lent him by DR.. Darier, and is able
to drive away the neuralgia rapidly
whenever it recurs. 1t is thus proved
that in such cases pain can be COM
pletely removed. But DR.. Darier is
careful to point out that this is In no
sense saying that cure has been et-
fected. The radium treatment has also
produced valuable results in nervous
diseases. A case of a disorder rather
doubtfully described as epileptic was
apparently cured by the application of
radium, and facial paralysis in strong
man, which had set in three days pre-
viously, was completely cured in forty
eight hours. DR.. A. Darier considers
that owing to it's high number of vibra'
tons, the frequency of which is greater
than in the case of electricity, radio
active matter exercises salutary slim
ulating effect on nerve centres, provid-
ed that the radio-activity be low. Over
a certain point of radio-activity the eff
feet is to destroy or paralyze the
nerves Incidentally, in connection
with the question of vibrations in mat
ter, DR.. A. Darier pointed out the i'm
port of the discovery of the new IN
rays" existing in living bodies as well
as in certain inanimate substances.
In DR.. Darier's treatment the radio
activity employed has never exceeded
10000 units, or "uranies," as he pro-
poses to name these units, the stand
ard chosen for measurement being the
radio-activity of uranium. The latter
being taken as /, the radio-activity of
bromide Of radium, in it's purest form,
that is to say. of the substance in
which hitherto radium has been OBJ
tanned in highest proportion, is some
thing like 100000, if not more, for at
this degree of activity the electric reg
istering instruments become them
selves electrified and cease to be
trustworthy. The radio-activity en-
ployed in Dr. Dariers treatment is, &C
cordingly, very low, the doses ranging
from 1000 to 10000 units. One prac-
tical advantage realized in this respect
is relative economy. We're it neces-
it's maximum activity, not only would
the cost be absolutely prohibitive, but
the treatment would become impossi
BILE to administer at all. DR.. A. Darier,
who often sees M. Curie in his labora-
tory, has been told by him that at pres
ent there is no fresh supply of radium
to be had anywhere at any price. OF
course the word ''radum" is used for
convenience sake only, for, as M. Cur
lie himself stated to DR.. A. Darier, the
metal has never yet been isolated, and
it's purest form known SO far is that of
certain bromides of radium.
How is DIR. Darier's treatment prac-
tically administered? In reply to this
question the physician showed me va
rious appliances, namely, straight
glass tubes of about the diameter of
an ordinary lead pencil, and some
three inches long; glass spirals and
rings of less than half the diameter of
the tubes, the rings being specially de-
signed for application over and round
the eyeball; and, lastly, small alumni
ium and silver discs. like sixpences,
and square brown paper envelopes of
the size of postage stamps. DR.. Darier
will have no more aluminium discs
made, as he found that about SO per-
cent of the radio-activity was lost in
the appliance. On the contrary, the
paper envelopes answer best of all.
They are not only very easy to use for
application on the forehead in case of
tan1ra Ii oia for in ct annn hut thav- arn