The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1915-11-18
IMPORTANT DISCOVERY
IN MEDICAL SCIENCE.
u. S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
DISCOVERS THE CAUSE AND
CURE OF PELLAGRA.

CURE OF PELLAGRA.
Announcement has been made by
the Treasury department that as q
result of continued research and ex-
periments of the Public Health Ser
vice, both the cause and the cure OF
pellagra have been discovered, and
that the spread of this dread malady,
which has been increasing IN the
United States at a terrific rate dur
ing the past few years, may now be
checked and eventually eradicated.
Assistant Secretary Newton. in
charge of the Public Health Service,
expressed great interest in the dis
covery and regards it as one of the
most important achievements of
medical science in recent years.
Pellagra has beenincreasing alarm
ingly throughout the United States
during the last eight years. and it
is estimated that $4,000 cases of the
disease will have occurred in the
United States in 1915, and Of this
number at least 1900 will have died
before the end of the year. In many
sections only tuberculosis and pneu-
monia exceed it as a cause of death.
The final epoch-making expert
ment of the Public Health Service
was carried out at the farm Of the
Mississippi State penitentiary about
eight miles east of Jackson, Miss.
and together with the previous
work of the service completes the
chain il the prevention and cure OF
the disease. The work at the Miss
issippi farm has been in charge of
Surgeon Joseph Goldberger and AS
sistant Surgeon G A Wheeler of the
United States Public Health Service.
The farm consists of 5000 acres in
the center of which is the convict
camp. The final experiment was
undertaken for the purpose of test
ing the possibility of producing pei
lagra in healthy human white adult
males by a restricted, one-slded,
mainly carbohydrate (cereal) diet.
Of eleven convicts who volunteered
for this experiment, six developed a
typical dermatitis and mild nervous
gastro-intestinal symptoms.
Experts, including DR. E H Gallo
way, the Secretary of the Mississip-
ri State Board of Health, DR. Nolan
Stewart, formerly superintendent of
the Mississippi State Hospital for
the Insane at Jackson, DR. Marcus
Hause, professor Of dermatology,
Medical College Of the University Of
Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn, and DR.
Martin R Engman, professor Of der
matology in the Washington Medical
School, St Louis, Mo, declare that
the disease which was produced was
true pellagra.
Prior to the commencement of
these experiments no history could
be found of the occurrence of pei
lagra on the penitentiary farm. On
this farm are rs or 80 convicts.
Governor Earl Brewer offered to
pardon twelve of the convicts who
would volunteer for the experiment.
They were assured that they would
receive proper care throughout the
experiment, and treatment should
it be necessary. The diet given was
bountiful and more than sufficient
to sustain life. 1t differed from
that given the other convicts merely
in the absence of meats, milk, eggs,
beans, peas, and similar proteid
foods. In every other particular
the convicts selected for the expert.
ment were treated exactly as were
the remaining convicts. They had
the same routine work and dis
cipline, the same periods of recrea-
ton and the same water to drink.
Their quarters were better than
those of the other convicts. The
diet given them consisted of bis
:. c~;ol ,,o,.L orrit, op6 hrou,p