The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1910-03-18
DISEASE GROWS
IN CORNfIELDS.
Unhealthy Condition Of Grain Pro-
duces Plague Of Pellagra
In the South.

in the Southern States as 10 become
a subject of widespread interest anon
physicians,as well as laymen, especial
~ in Georgia, Alabama, North Caro-
lima and Louisiana, and known as pell
agra, has been made the subject of
a chapter in the fifth edition OF
Diseases of the skim the standard
publication by DIR. John " Shoemak-
er OF the Medico-C hirurgical faculty o
the F.. a. Davis Company. This ia
mns.- specialist thus writes OF shis
plague:
Pellag1a is a chronic inflamatory,
endemic, constitutional affection char
aoerized by severe gaStro-inte5iinal
and nervous disturbances and accom-
panied by cutaneOus symptoms. Any
portion of the skin may be involv-
ed. but the face, neck, arms, should
ems and legs )all OF which, among GER
taan classes in the countries where
it is prevalent, are habitually unpro-
teoted from the stunt suffer mos, Sc
verely. Synonyms for the popular title
Of the affection are lepra ialica, lCm-
pardy erysipelas or leprosy, La Rosa,
etc.
AS to the symptoms, the epidermis
becomes Redeemed and painful and may
peel off in large patches. Vesicles
and bullae may also form. The erup-
ton is always aggravated during the
summer. 1t may appear at any age
and in either sex. The Constitutional
symptoms are vari5d and severe. Ply
alism, feid perspiraion, hypertrophy
OF the mails, convulslons, paralysis
and Authorizations frequently occur in
the course of the disease.
Pellagra is endemic In Italy, and is
occasionally observed in Southern
finance and Spain. A number of caus
es are concerned in its production,
as imperfect ventilation, impure water
and insufficient food. The most i'm
eortant factor Is the use of diseased
maize as food Lessons of the spinal
cord have been demonstrated by f.
BelmCLdo aud S. MHIcOli. In the
more acute forms the LESSONS assumed
the character u an acute general my
ehlis, while in the chronic cases de-
generation was found especially in
no lower dorsai region. Pdrhon and
Goldsrein of Bucharest have reported
an interesting case Of pellagra in
which sialorrhea was a prominent
symp ON, which was evidently Of ner-
vous origin.
AT a meeting Of lhe Academy of
Medicine NJ. Marie said lint an cXam-
ination of insane Arabs suffering from
pellagTa in the Abassech Asylum show
I'd tha. genuine pellagra was almost
constant among chem, iuy. as among |
the population from whlch 1hey were |
derived; they were therefore = la I
srOus persons who had b come in !
sane. SOM mental disorders, follow |
ing pellagra owed their OIlgin 10 l., /
and IN Jha. accoun. presented typi- !
cal psychological charao eTlStics as
sociafed with the physical symptoms |
Of p-llagra. Certain paraly,ic forms of
inEanity occurred in pallegrOus in !
dividuals and confirmed the oplnio1 |
NJ lui III, h.t
pellagrous paralysis m ghL assume a |
form clinically and pAuhOllg cally |
Identical with general paralysis OF |
the insane. The diseases were, how
ever, no, the same. and NJ. Marie |
considered that general paralysis of
tho insane was syphiliibc manifesto !
ion, The two fOnms might be com
binel-that is to gay, cases were |
known IN which Arabs suffering |
from general paralysis We're both sly
philitic and pellagrous.
LOmbroso claims that pellagra is
an intoxication due to an ex.ractive
substance similar TO ergoun formed b
the growth of certain fungi on corn
Ills has obtained witery ard |
alcoholic extracts OF damaged corn and |
has produced eNIrTtmeatally symp-
toms similar 20 those of pellagra.
lie calls this exUracUive substance
pellagrazein.
An epidemic of pelagra, in this
country. has been reported by DR..
Gconge II. Searcy. IL occurred among
the Ps;ients of the Mount Vernon In
sane Hospital, in Alabama who were
fed principally upon maize. OF eighty
eight casJs, only eight were male.
The average age was "a years. The
location varied: OF skin LESSONS, So
per cent showed 1t on backs of hands
and wrists, 80 per cent had it on
doraal surface 70 feet, and the same
on the back Of the neck:
20 per cert had It on the face, 1. g.,
about the checks; only per cent