The Alaska daily empire., 1916-12-07
Doctors at the Famous Mayo Brotlers Clinic Make Important
 Discovery:
ENTERTAIN HIGH HOPES
With Isolation of Most CauSative Agent lnfan- tile Paralysis Serum
 Is Now Sought

ST. PAUL. Dec. -(SpeciaD - In the laboratories of the famous Mayo clinic, at Rochester, Mmn, a certain micvo.organism has been dis covered which is believed by inycs ugators in the department os Path. ology Co be the causatiyc agert ot infanule paralysis-the lseal disease which last summer killed or crippled nearly 10000 American babies.
 With customary scientific reserve Dr. P. C. Rosenow. who is in charge Of the experiments. will not yet as Sert positively that the germ which he and his associates. Dr. F. B Towue. ot Boston. and Dr. G. w. Wheeler Of New York, have succeed. ed in isolatiGg is the germ Of inf3n tile paralysis. but in what he terms 9 preliminary note" that he has pre- serted Co the State Medical Society it is shown that in numerous eXperi- ments during the past few months all point in the same direction.
 Because Of the high hopes which the discovery of some mistake or bro. ken link in the present chain of scien- tific evidence would dash, those iu. tercsted in the experiments at Koch. ester are especially cbary of making announcements.
 Many Experiments Conducted
 In the preliminary note" referred to, DTS. Rosenow. Towne and Wheel CT give the results Of their study of the epidemic which was worse last summer in New York. Dr. Rosenow spent more than a month in the thick of the fight waged against the disease by the New York health au. -hori,ios and the experiments out lined were based upon more than fifty acute cases Of Inc disease both in Gotham and in Rochester.
 What is described as a peculiar polymorphus sterptococcus' has been isolated by these men, often of large number, from the throat ;onsllc and abscesses in the tonsils of eases ana acute !n.antile paralysis.
 The same germ has been obtained from the veHtricula- fluid after death and the blood of a living patient in one case. The colonies of strepto- cocci thus isolated after emulsion in sterile air chamber, are in. each instance described as consisting of
 fine slightly green colonies"
 Isolated Peculiar Germ
 Summing up the results of their abors the three doctors say:
 We have located a peculiar strep- tococcus from throats. tensile, absces- ses in tonsils and from the centrahI nervous system in cases Of poliomy- elitis. Paralysis has been produced in animals of various species by in- trayenous and inracerebral infection of cultures Of this organism, and les. ions of the gray matter of their ner. vous system have been demonstrat. ed. From the nervous system cfl these animals the streptococcus has been isolated in pure culture, while their other tissues were sterile It is remarkably polymorphous and ap- pears to grow large or small, accord ing to the medium in which it is l grown, even after passage through an oxyberkcfeld filter
 Using the organism in its large form. paralysis has been consistent 1 ly produced in animals known to be to inoculation with ma terial from epidemic pollomyelitis a. practiced. After paralysis 1 had been produced in a series oil three rabbits. the strain caused char. acteristic paralysis and lesions of pol. | iomyelitis in monneys"
 It is no secret that since the iso. Iation of the germ of infantile para .ysis, many experiments have been | made at Rochester looking to the perfection Of a vaccine or serum for It's prevention It should be added, however. that the cure. even if found, would not restore the use of their crippled limbs to children who have been victims of the disease in the past In these cases the damage already had been done
 -o-S-S
 Will there be music in your home his xmas2 Let it be a Viotrola.