The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-17

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 condensed statements of articles writ.
 the American Medical assoc,ation for
 on. ss pronded asS sS asSsFi G
 cific medical advice or diagnosis physician on seeing the patient will be answered by note to that effect.
 This This T5a is snS other members of the North American Newspaper Alliance, with the CO.,
 operation of Hygeia All questions question: addressed envelope. .-.
 New Cures And Methods
 Almost every day reports appear of new cures or new methods for the control of disease, and the minimizing reader is likely to believe that the conquering of the incurable complaints of the past has become a matter of daily routine. Unfortunately this is not the case It is true that occassion- ally a brilliant discovery like the insulin used for diabetes, the Schick test and the toxinantitoxin for the con- trol of diptheria, and the announcement of the demonstration of a causitive or ganism in scarlet fever, is we'll sub stantiated. All too often, however, the reports that appear are based on brief experiments tion and are unconfirmed. With the passage of time they sink into oblivion.
 Chlorine Gas For Colds
 It has long been known that chlorine gas has a powerful action against germs. The Carrel- -Dakin method used in the war for cleaning up war wounds was based on the use of chlorine containing solutions. ., It occurred to scientific observers in the medical department of our army that the inhaling of chlorine gas might be a valuable method for bring ing a germ-destroying element into di- rect contact with the bacteria that cause colds, influenza, bronchitis or pneumonia, or in fact, any of the in- fections that occur in the nose, throat, and lungs. It was found scientifically that chlorine in the air would prevent the growth of bacteria on culture plates, and that in the presence of moisture concentration of one part of chlorine in a million would kill germs on the membranes of the nose and throat.
 The army physicians devised an ap- parutus for getting chlorine into the air and they report that it had a beneficial influence when used in this way on the various diseases that affect the breathing apparatus
 Someone may remember that a similar method, using ozone, was ex- plotted about ten years ago and that a scientific study eventually exploded the idea that it had any real value. But chlorine is, different gas and works in a different way than ozone. Perhaps continued study will show that the method has real worth; at present it is in what physicians label "an experimental stage"
 Dyes Kill Germs
 It is generally known that an an- tiseptic that will kill one kind of living matter will kill other kinds also; any thing that will destroy a germ will usually destroy also to some extent the human cells that are the breeding place for that germ. It is known however that certain dye substances seem to have special, selective action for some kinds of germs and will not affect others. It therefore occurred to re- search workers to test the effcts of these dyes on wounds infected with the kind of bacteria for which they had selective action and the results were encouraging.
 Then it was found possible to make combinations of such dyes with drugs substances like mercury and to have the dye substance carry along the drug in its action on the germ. Experi- ments were made using such combina- tions in the treatment of wounds and in the treatment of infections of the nose and other passages that could be gotten at externally.
 The most recent extension of the method has been to inject these dyes and dye combinations directly into the blood through a vein in order to treat infections or abscesses inside the body, as for example those localized around kidney, in the bladder, or even spread throughout the body with bacteria cir culation in the blood.
 Here the results reported are extra ordinarily encouraging, although here also they are in an experimental stage But it is well to listen to the exact words of one of the authorities who has been working with the method: =
 "I believe that in the near future we will all be using the .intravenous method of treating many infections, both general and local. believe that the future will bring out important drugs that can be introduced intraven- ously, and which will probably not only cure acute septicemias, otherwise fatal, by rapid sterilization, but also serious chronic local infections such as those we encounter in the urinary tract"
 Other New Methods
 Among the; methods which have been heralded in the press are a cure for pneumonia by the injection of a new serum, method of preventing pneu- monia by injecting a drug, a cure for hardening of the Arteries by injecting serum, cures for the infection fol- lowing childbirth by serums and drugs and a mass of methods for rejuvenat- ion. It is impossible in the scope of this article to pay individual attention to each of these methods but it is safe to say that none of them is supported by the type of proof that is usually accepted by students of science
 When new method of treatment is proposed, it must be submitted to cer- tain definite tests of it's value. These involve the study of the method on a large number of cases, comparing the patients treated with the method with other patients not so treated and of the same relative age as those who have ben given the new cure.
 This required, of course, a large amount of time 9nd study; such re- search can be safely conducted only in hospital where sthe other treatment given the patients diet, warmth, bathing and similar methods-will also be the same.
 Of the various methods of rejuve- nation which continue to be exploited, another word should be said. It is important to say that there exists not the slightest evidence that rejuvenation has been accomplished in a single human case. Exneriments nf intarest