Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-08
FIGHT ON SCOURGES
MAKING PROGRESS
International Authorities Re-
port Specific for
Psoriasis.

Notable scientific progress has beer
made throughout the world during the
past year in fighting some of the great
epidemic Scourges of mankind
This has Just been reported to the
Public Health Service by the Interna'
tional once of Public Hygiene in Paris
Of which the United States is member
which is an international health organ
isation that serves as watchdog of the
human race against the resurgence Of
such diseases as bubonic plague, cholera
and yellow fever, which have no respect
for national boundaries.
The one new possible specific reported
b for psoriasis, a skin disease quite COM
mon in the United States, for which nc
remedy has been known in the past and
the cause of which is unknown. 1t at
lacks chiefly the elbows knees and scalp
causing disfiguring, whitish scales which
in Biblical times caused it frequently to
be mistaken for leprosy. In some cities.
the Public Health Service reports
psoriasis clubs have been formed sc
that the victims can discuss their trou-
bles with sympathetic listeners.
Specific Taken by Injection.
The specific is reported by the in
ternational Office from Jugoslavia. It
is q substance obtained by the artificial
digestion Of scales from a diseased per-
son in pepSn and trypsin, the essential
digestive substances of the stomach. 1t
is administered to patients by injec-
ton.
The disease is never disabling, and
tends to disappear as the victim be-
comes older. Specific cures are so rare
in medical science that discovery OF one
is of considerable historical Importance.
Moreover, the report points out, the
work in Jugoslavia may open the door
to discovery of other specifics among
substances drawn from diseased prod
ucts, due to their influence on metabo-
ism.
The Public Health Service emphasizes
that It has no knowledge of the efhcacy
or technique of this therapy other than
that contained in the brief note of the
international Office, which speaks of 1t
as "a remarkable therapeutic success"
For yellow fever seemingly strict
~ specific" means of diagnosis, the
contribution of Brazilian physicians,
was reported This is based on the
decrease in the blood of the affected
person of an obscure chemical sub
stance known as alexin which always
manifests itself in a measurable way
at the start of yellow fever symptoms.
This is of special value in detecting
benign" cases of yellow fever, where
infected persons do not become very
Ill but have the still mysterious or
ganism in their blood which they can
pass on to mosquitoes who bite them.
These in turn pass the disease to other
persons.
Discovered No Cure.
yellow fever was almost eliminated
as a scourge of the civilized world
after the Spanish-American War by
the American Army surgeon and his
American and Cuban associates who
apparently demonstrated that it was
spread only by certain variety OF
mosquito. The only safeguard neces-
sary was protection from the insect
bites by proper screening and destruc-
ton of the mosquitoes themselves.
But they discovered no cure" for
the disease once it was contracted and
the latest work reported by the Inter
medical science drew too far-reaching
conclusions from the demonstration.
At least under laboratory conditions
man can be infected by direct con-
tact the skin intact, with yellow
fever patient and the mysterious ell
terable virus" responsible for the dis
ease can pass from mosquito to mos
quito without the medium of human
victim.
Attempts to obtain an effective vac
cine against yellow fever are less en-
couraging today than when they were
begun" the report says. However, GER
tain Of these new discoveries do not
seem as yet to be of any considerable
importance in practice. Contamination
OF man by direct contact has only