Norwich bulletin., 1922-09-29


 holds has not led to benefit but to a decided aggTevation Of ssmptoma
 pr. oBrien Describes treatment.
 Dr. o,Brien,s paper combined many interesting sketches of the picturesque Seaside treatment with a scientific re- port of his studies of bone and glandu- lar tuberculosis since the institution was opened. He said in part:
 Tn order to realize that a change has come over all our ideas in regard to the proper treatment of tubercuiar cervical adenitis, try to imagine with what scorn that man would be treated who twenty years ago. would have the LelneriSy to treat tubercfusar abeesses without the use of the knife. At that time the wisdom Of removing diseased glands, was no more questioned than the wisdom of removing a diseased ap- pendix There might be some difference of opinion as to the proper time to op- crate, but none as to the advisability of some kind of operation
 Although. today, we still have our ad- vocates of radical operation. they are in the minority and are rapidly dinirl- ishing, nor do they urge surgical meas ures with Nthe same insistence as of old. The feeling that the lesion ine bone or gland is merely local manifestation of a constitutional disease. Is awakening in the medical consciousness, and with it. a realization of the utter futiiity of attempting g cure by the removal of the most obvious symptoms.
 French Seaside Cures.
 For 8 great many years the medical world had wondered at the mysterious cures of bone and gfandular tuberculo- | sis, which were every day occurring at the French Seaside anatoriaL, more particularly at Berck Was it some thing in the air. or the water. or per haps 8 combination of both? Was it the result of injections into the disease areas. so universally practiced by the l French surgeons, the running sores to dry and heal, the pain of bone disease 1 to stop, and the motion to return in diseased joints: or was it because ot l the more efficient fixation, as practiced l by Calot, with his nicely moulded pias- l ters so snugly fitting the part involved What was the important factor and l could the same results be attained else where? Perhaps, as aona suggested l it was the suns rays. whose healing i power was intensified by reflection from 1 the nipples on the water and from the sand on the beach.
 Rollier then showed that, many miles from the ocean. with snow clad noun tains on all sides, using braces. instead of nicely moulded plasters, and disre. garding the injections of the French 1 surgeons, equally good results could be l attained. This fact confirmed the be i lief that sunlight was the most import 1 ant element in the cure. Rollier made a further important contribution to tht study of heliotherapy when he observed | that his pat,A:ts failed to improve, i the sun treae4neTlt was given on glas! l inclosed porches instead of in the open 1 Therefore, he attributed the therapeu 1 tic benefit to the rays on the ultravio let end of the spectrum, inasmuch a those are the rays which fail to pene trate ordinary window glass. More re gently, Hess has thrown more light oI l this important subject in his expert ments on rats. He found that sunligh had a profound influence on metabol 1 ism that the blood phosphates coul, be kept at normal level, in spite 0 a low phosphorous intake. provided tn
 subject be exposed for short time eacl
 day to direct sunlight If sunlight fit
 cred through ordinary window glass b
 used, the blood phosphorous falls an
 ric1ets develop. By using glass spec
 ially prepared so that the various ray
 could be, analysed in ordec to deter | on metabolism, he was able to sho1 l. that the shorter or chemical rays, nor particularly those having a wave lengt
 of about 300 microns were the only one
 with any influence. The clinical obser !. vations of Roller agreeing with tn scientific experiments of Hess. make extremely probable that the same pai of the spectrum which prevents ricket
 in rats also cures tuberculosis in mas Another factor in favor of this belle
 Is the popularity and success Of tn
 snow clad mountains and the sea shor in the trea tment of surgical tubercuI1 sis. Conditions prevailing in bot fplaces favor comparatively greatt amount of the ultraviolet of chemic;
 rays The direct rays~sf the sun al no different in those localities than
 others, except possibly more intens because of the greater clearness of tf atmosphere. The essential difference Q however. is in the character of the r, fiected rays. The, longer or heat ray are quickly absorbed by the water