The Columbus journal., 1910-11-30
INFANTHE PARALYSIS.

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INFANTILE PARALYSIS.
The most important thing that the
public needs to know about the terri.
bic disease, poliomyelitis, called infan'
tile paralysis, is that it is contagious
The certain knowledge of this fact il
very recent, and is consequently un.
known not only to the general public
but to the great majority ofeven good
physicians.
The disease has recently been shown
to be caused by q living organism 81
small that it can pass through the fin
est bacterial filter. Experiments on
monkeys, in the Rockefeller Institute,
under the direction of DR.. Flexner,
have succeeded in isolating the germ,
which is SO small that it is doubtful II
by any device it has been seen. That
it is living organism is shown, how.
ever, DR.. Flexner points out, by the
fact that extremely minute quantities
of the virus suffice to carry infection
through an indefinite series of animals.
We have propagated the virus now
through twenty-five generations, rep
resenting twenty-five separate series
of monkeys, and as many removes from
the original human material supplying
it, and the activity of the virus for the
monkeys has increased rather than
diminished in the course, and as the re.
suit of, the successive transplanta-
tons.
For all practical purposes, therefore,
the germ, though unseen. is discovered.
They can inoculate monkeys with the
disease and can produce in them i'm.
munization, much in the same way as
the smallpox virus is used on human
beings. As yet, however, the dis
covery has not affected the direct
treatment of the disease, since the pre-.
paration of a serum antidote sufficient.
ly strong to overcome the virus has not
yet been made. What these expert
ments on monkeys have surely accom-.
plished, however, is to establish beyond
doubt the infectious and contagious
nature Of the disease; and when this
fact is sufficiently realized by the pub
lie. the disease will be greatly lessened
in extent and possibly stamped out by
quarantine and generally preventive
measures.
A large percentage Of the cripples
one sees is the result of this disease.
You hear someone say that q certain
child was dropped by its nurse and SO
developed hump" back; that a GER
tain man with a wasted and useless
arm caught cold" when q child; that
some deformity was due to the effect
of malaria or some other disease.
Such accidents" and alleged effects
from illness are now thought to he
largely the result of this germ disease.
1t is probably that very large per.
centage of the worst of these deformi.
ties may he averted by proper treat.
ment. The disease itself canLot as vet
be treated. For that We must wait
for the preparation of an antitoxin
and for more knowledge of the symp.
toms, so as to be able to make a dag
nosis before the paralysis occurs and
damage is done.
All that can be done at present is to
treat the effects of the disease. The
paralysis results from the destruction
Of nerve cells in the spinal cords. A
function Of these cells is to supply nu-
triton to the muscles. With the des-
truction or disturbance of the cells, the
nutrition Of the muscles is cut off and
they tend to wither and die.
The essential treatment is directed
keeping the affected muscles in as good
a state of preservation as possible un-
til the spontaneous improvement in the
nervous system takes place and the
cells resume their function of supply.
ing nutrition. 1t is essential that
when the nervous force returns it
should find sound muscles to effect.
Drugs are sometimes given, but the es-
sential treatment consists of massage,
electricity, and muscular exercises.
Some physicians place great reliance
upon electricity. properly applied. but
massage and exercise are relied upon
especially by the majority of practi-
TONERS, as means of keeping the mus.
cles intact until the cord resumes its