The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1908-08-26
HOPE FOR THE BLIND,
Patients Tell Of Relief Gained
! From New X Ray Method.
intermittent RAYS ARE USED

Discovery Made by Dr.. Finley r. Cook
While Treating a caneer-cataract
Films Even Pierced by the Powerful
~Lisht-Thirty Persons Benefited.
That blindness can be overcome and
the eyes regenerated by a new method
Of utilizing X rays is the discovery
claimed to have been made by a prom.
inent New York physician and sur.
geon. DR.. Finley R. Cook.
Though he has made no formal an
nouncement concerning his discovery
to the medical fraternity, DR.. Cook has
had the advice and assistance Of sew
eral general practitioners and eye spe-
cialists in using it upon some thirty
persons suffering from loss Of sight In
varying degrees. And when the Acad-
envy Of Medicine resume its meetings
in the fall he will make a full report
to that body on the success he has at
tanned in these cases.
Despite DR.. Cooks desire to keep his
work a secret until the time arrives for
making it known through medical chan
nels, several Of those who declare he
has benefited them are enthusiastic in
their wish to tell of what it has dons
for them.
Remarkable statements regarding the
manner in which the x rays had re-
stored their sight were made recently
to a New York American reporter by
several Of these patients.
T. J. Byrne Of New York city said:
II was going blind when I began to
take the Roentgen ray treatment and
could not recognize a friend who passed
me on the street. Now I can distin-
guish faces for a distance Of half a
block and can read the finest print"
Mrs. Rose Bopf of New York city
said:
"The sight Of my left eye was dim
med, and the right was totally blind.
Though l had worn glasses for more
than fifteen years, my sight was rapid
ly failing when l started the X ray
treatment. At the present time I can
see with the eye that formerly was
useless, and the left one has improved
so much that I have stopped wearing
glasses"
Even more striking than these two
cases is that of Frank Comstock Of
Meriden. Conn.,, which Is vouched for
by Mr.. Byrne. Comstock was totally
without vision when he was first treat
ed with the rays, the retina Of one eye
being detached, while the other had
been badly affected by degeneration Of
the nerves. He was then unable to
make his way through the streets with
out assistance. He is now able to read
and can find his way easily from place
to place without any help.
DR.. Cooks discovery Of the method
which he uses in applying the X rays
to the eyes was made while treating
cancer with the powerful light. While
trying to hit on a plan for preventing
his patient from being burned he de-
cided the only way to do this was to
make the exposures Of the light upon
the subject internationally. When he
tried this he found the rays were
just as effective, while they did not
leave any QarIl1ul euecLS.
He concluded, therefore, that the
fault lay in the fact that the rays were
used for a continuous period, which
resulted in irritation following quick
ly upon the stimulation which was
sought. After that he modified the
treatment to flashes" these being for
just a second, but Of great power.
Shortly 0ftor this cfon hod boop <o1,
en- a young woman who had been blind
for twenty-seven years applied to him.
The result in this case was not very
promising, as the young woman SUI
fered very severely from cataract, but
1t was sufficient to show that the rays
had a regenerative effect upon the eye.
Through discussion with DR.. David
Webster, a well known eye specialist
of New York city, and others familiar
with diseases Of the optics he was en-
abled to obtain patients for further
experiment.
Where the weakness Of the vision
was caused by degeneration Of the
nerves or detachment Of the retina uni
formly good results have been attained,
1t is said. Where the patient has been
the victim Of cataract the improve
ment has been less marked. This is
explained by the fact that the cat
aract covers the eye with a film which
must first be removed before the eye
can be regenerated.
In some cases the rays have even
caused the piercing Of this cataract
film. In the case Of a Mrs. Watson Of
New Rochelle, N. T., this was accom-.
plished. Mrs. Watson, who had been
totally blind for a great many years,
was enabled to see the lights four
minutes after the x rays had been
used upon her. Later she declared she
was able to see slightly.
While DR.. Cook admitted that he had
been carrying on this work, he refused
to discuss the cases, saying that in the
fall he purposed making an exposition
Of his findings before a scientific body.
nr COOk is a 1oaIioo mo,ohov 80 <bo