The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-05-28
THE CAUSE OF CHRONIC HYPERTRoPHIC
 ARTERIES

Koch's law by which the specific cause of an infectious disease is determined IS falriy sausIac tory to any intelligent reasonable or scensinc , pure culture from all or most cases or the ois. ease in question:; that the germ be not present in other diseases: that inoculation or otner ih-
 dviduals of thessame species with cultures of the, germ produce the same disease; ana nnally tnat the germ be recovered in pure culture rom these cases = An infectious disease is one caused by the in- vasioa of the tissues by germs It IS not neces- sarily contagious or communicapie py oroihary natural means. Infection means the invasion of tissues by germs. It does not mean what the puDHc
 magines-mere presence or germs m sne nso Isouc o throat or on the skin. It is important to nave this distinction clearly in mnid, especially when you are dealing with your own illness or the illness of any one in your environment You may Kill off most or all of the germs that happen 10 pc m
 secretons of mouth or m srenes or with the germs that have invaded the tissues anu are causing some illness indispostion .r
 Tn the January number of the American Jour-
 nal of the Medical Sciences Drs R. L. Cecil, F. F.
 Nichols and W. J. Stainsby summarize the evi, dence for the streptococcic origin Of so-caiIed
 .rheumatoid arthritis," otherwise known as n.y. pertrophic chronic arthritis-hypertrophic means overgrowth and thickening of the tissues or structures involved Here are striknig points in the evidence: l. Almost constant presence of streptococci
 2. streptococci found in the blood of 62 per cent or patients Wlln AAS,-S in healthy controls.
 3. streptococci obtained from the. affected
 joints of 67 per cent of rheumatoid artnritis pa tients: none from non-rheumatoid Jo1nts 4. High agglutinaton Ca specinc pacterloios-
 cal test) of typical strains of streptococci With
 the blood in 94 per cent of patients With rheuma- ma told arthritis. (Ths is comparable with the VI dal blood test for typhoid fever). Disappearance
 5- Bioogical identity of streptococci obtained from blood, joints and focus of infection in the same patient, though a number Of exceptions to
 ''' G. Production of a disease having the char acteristic of "rheumatoid arthrits in rabbits by
 ai o of from the blood and joints of the inoculated rab-
 bits
 fn the joints of the inoculated rabbits with the usual changes in rheumatoid arthritis In man; There has been disposition to regard tnis form of chronic arthritis metabolic." that is, somehow due to faults of nutrition. perhaps some
 in diet & or dssary mea nor too much meat" All these last ideas are thorough ly obsolete and remedies or diets based upon them are exploited only by nostrum mongers or fad headers or mail order humbugs. Deficiency or
 Vitamin in the diet may have some influence on the power of the body to develop or maintain normal immunity against streptococcic infection. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS v Grinding the Teeth
 Dr G. J. B.. dentist. informs me that on mum
 crous occasions mothers have reported to him
 that children ceased grinding the teeth in sleep after dccaycd teeth were either filled or moved. some haIf dozen Otner reaucrS lnIOrm suc thiut
 "wOrms" makes children grit their teeth, and to
 prove it they cite imaginery cures from various
 alleged s'wOrm medicines" Of course this Is pure superstition. Most children harbor worms at one time or another which never 0 only rarely cause any symptoms whatever. Even 1T the grinding or
 gritting of the teeth in sleep were due to- worms
 then the removal of the worms would be the only
 remedy It is said to know that people intelligent enougI, to write their own names still believe some mysterious "worm mcdiclncss" dissolve or otherwise dispose of worms within the body. Dried Sputum
 | Old reader surprised your statement little dan- ger from splitting on pavemcnts. Brother patient | in sanitoriumi. There they teach sputum on sidewalks soon dries. blows about and then becomes the agent in the spread of disease. co. Al
 Answer--It Is q matter of opinion Many of the | older physicians believed dried sputum blown
 about as dust readily carried tubercle bacilli or other respiratory infections do not believe ths is likely to happen. Such sclentinc evidence ns
 have scarcely indicates that such npitting hab- | its are concerned in the spread of disease. Banana Oil Right
 Let me thank you for tho great hclp you save
 my brother. lie wrote about hs c0lltis ana you
 sent him your "Gui1o tO Right Enting" TIC
 banana dlet has given him most rcmnrksbe re-
 Answer--Not only .puny Infants . few months
 old thrive on liberal ration of well rIpsned pnn- ana but many Efownupe with lnteNInhI dieturb- nnoes And if beneficial te include Co the diet neys ereI ripe bananas each day,