The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-04-16
TAKES.
BRAINS FROM
SIX LUNAT|CS
Declares He Has Proved That
Paresisis Brain Form of an
" Old Disease.

MicnlSan, J0urneyed TO the Pontiac
State Hospital, bored holes into the
brains of six living persons with On
ordinary dental drill and extracted
from each hole quantity of living
brain substance with which he in
oculatsd rabbit.
When the rabbit became infected,
Doctor Vile said, the presence OF
spirochaeta pallida in the brains OF
lunatics had been established, and the
cause of paresis. determined.
Laymen- were less impressed with
this discovery than that vivisection
had been practiced on human beings
in a state hospital. probably without
their consent.
The result is that Doctor Vile Is
being attacked in a broadcast dis
tribution OF circulars and his col
leagues are rallying to his support.
The question whether or not hui
man vivisection shall be permitted,
especially in asylums and hospitals
where the wishes o. the patient are
not consulted, has been brought
compelffngly into public attention.
Take Peculiar View.
Several interesting facts have been
brought to light by acknowledge
ments OF Doctor Vile and his as
sociates. They showed that physici-
ans consider the act OF entering a
hospital for treatment implies assent
to any experiments TO which the
surgeon may consider necessary to
enable him to ascertain the nature of
the patients trouble.
II you go to the hospital they may
perform an experiment on you, and no
further permission will be asked, ac-
cording to one of the most prominent
men of the faculty. That is, your
physician will not ask any further
permission unless the experiment
jeopardize your life.
They might even drill hole in
your head in the interest of your
case and science generally. For, this
physician said, this. is not considered
n dangerous experiment.
Here is what Doctor Vile has done,
as related by himself:
THE method OF puncture is as fol-
lows: The patients head Is first
shaved and the anterior portion of
the skull thoroughly painted with
tincture of iodine.
THE region is frozen with ethyl
chloride and revolving dental drill
is thrust quickly through the skin
and deeper tissues. A few rapid
revolutions Of the drill in the hands
OF an assistant suffice to pierce the
skull.
THE drill is then removed and a
long. thin needle is inserted. This is
pushed firmly and deeply into the
cortex. A syringe barrel is attached
to the end of the needle. By suction
a small cylinder of brain substance
containing both gray and white mat
ter Is draw into the syringe, together
with more or less fluid from the
ventricle.
1t Is Extremely Simple.
The operation is extremely simple.
One has only to avoid the cerebral
and meningeal vessels, and over the
frontal region, we'll away from the
midline, such danger is not encount-
cred, nor is any important. center
disturbed. In all cases thus far ex-
amined virtually no pain has been
experienced"
At Pontiac Doctor Christian placed
the usual facilities at the disposal of
Doctor Vile and provided the
patients. These, it is alleged, were
hopelessly insane. Consent of their
guardians was neither obtained nor
thought necessary. They were dying
Of paresis. and the operation neither
FASTENED nor retarded the course Of
the disease. The operation was sue
cessful inasmuch as they proved the
contentious of Doctor Vile.
Physicians and surgeons in general
have little to say on the subject, but
refer interviewers to Doctor Vile,
who becomes extremely reticent when
asked questions which he does not
care to answer.
When am ready to make report
l will do so through the medical
Journal" he said. II do not care to
appear in the public press" The
physicians, however, made no denial
that the subject of Doctor Wile's
trephining doubtless had nothing to
say in3the matter. Inasmuch as they
were demented acquiescence might
be easy to procure anyway.
One prominent physician whose
name is withheld said there is no
danger In trephinins and that it
sounds worse to the layman than it
really is. 1t is no more Injurious
than to draw blood from the finger
tips and the moment 1t was over the
patient is up and feels no particular
ill-effects, he said.
"a large part of the brain is lust
'mush. and the loss OF a quantity Of
II. does not affect the subjects men
tally or bodily health. You can lose
alot of 1t without knowing the differ
ence." he said. tf.t n
"By these operations Doctor Vile
established the fact that paresis is
brain syphilis. Prior to this the
cause Of the disease had not been
known and physicians were conse-
quently at loss for method Of
treating 1t.
Nobody knows the cause of scar
let fever and, I presume, will never
know until we have experimental on
a child. We should have to be able
to study the disease as we please in
a little boy or girl-possibly we will
have to allow another child to con-
tract the disease from the one under
observation.
SO ++**++ : =.