Mountain advocate., 1915-11-19
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE DISCOVERS
CAUSE AND CURE OF PElLAGRA

Announcement made the Treasury department tcday
that result of continued research and experiments of the Pub
lie Health Service both the and the Of peagra have
been discovered and tbs spread this dread maady which has
been increasing in the United States terrific rate during the
few years he checked and eventually eradcated
Secretary Newton charge the Public Health Ser
vice. EXPRESSED great interest in the discovery and regards
of the most important achievements of medical science in
cent years.
Peagra increasing aarmng throughout the United
during the last eight years and it is estimated that $4,000
cases the disease occurred in the United States in 1915
and hsnumber least 300 will have died before the end of
M ,r In ,oopv sac,i,ns on oss and nemonio ey
coed it as Il cause of death.
The final epochmakng experiment of the Public Health Sci
carried the farm of the Mississippi State Peniter
ay about eight miles of Jackson Miss and together with
the previous work of the Service completes the chain in the
venton ard cure The work the Mississippi Farm
has been charge of Surgeon Joseph Gobeger and Assistant
Surgeon c. A. Wheeler of the United States Public Health Service
The 5000 the which the
camp The final experiment undertaken for the pup
of testing the possibility producing peaGra in healthy hunG
adult males by restricted sided mainly carbohydrate
ccrea diet Of eleven convcs who volunteered for this expert
ment six developed typical demaies and mild nervous CASTRO
intestinal symptoms.
Experts including Dr. E. H. Galloway Secretary of the
Mississippi Board of Health Dr. Nolan formerly
Superintendent Mississippi Hospital
Jackson Dr. Marcus Hause Professor of Dematoogy Medical
College Of the University of Tennessee Memphis Tenn and Dr.
Engman Professor of DermatoOgy in the Washington
Medical School, Louis No. declare that the disease which
produced pellagra.
Prior these experiments history
farm this farm so Governor Earl Brewer
twelve of the who would
the experiment Thep assured that they would pre-
per throughout the experiment and should it be
necessary The diet given bountfu and than sufficient
sustain life 1t differed from that given the other convc
merely the absence of meats milk, beans peas and SINH
lar poteed foods In every other particular the selected
the experiment treated exactly the remaining
convcS They had the routine work and discipline
periods of eltion and the watf drink Their
quarters better than those Of the other The diet
gven them consisted of biscuits S cts and brown gravy
syrup bread cabbage potatoes rice cOlars
with sugar All of the best quality and pro-
pery cooked AS preliminary and determine if the cOnvcts
were afflicted with other disease they kept under obSe
walton FEBRUARY 4h to April 9th and hrlf months
which date the sided diet begun.
Although the of nervous symptoms and gastron
festival disturbances noted early until September
18th about five months after the beginning of the restricted
diet the skin symptoms characc of peagra began
develop These symptoms considered typical
caution being akeu that they
any other disease The convctS whom the experiment
being made well twenty other convics who selected
controls kept under continuous medical surveillance No
csas peagra developed excepting among those
the restricted diet The eXpementes have there
the conclusion that eagr has been caused
six of the volunteers of the sided diet
which they submitted
On basis of this discovery the States Mis- Ssp 0uis
and Florida have laid their propaganda through their repe
tive boards of health for the eradication of the disease.