Evening star., 1935-11-21

They are afraid to laugh.
Laughter Is like q virulent poison to
these three World War veterans, VIC
tins Of q weird and rare nervous disease,
who have passed recently through the
diagnostic center of the Veterans Ad-
ministration at Mount Alto Hospital in
Washington.
If they laugh they are likely to lapse
instantly into strange sort of DEATH
in-life in which they fall forward with
no power of movement or control of
muscles, but with complete retention of
consciousness.
An official report on their cases has
just been made by DR.. H. w. Baxley Of
the diagnoStic center staff. They are
victims of a condition known as marco
lepsy, disease which may be closely
allied with epilepsy, although its mani
festations are quite different.
The disease, as described by the Vet
erans' Administration doctors, is char
acterized by two things-sudden and
irresistible tendency to fall asleep and
the life-in-death seizures which are likely
to be brought on by any emotional mani
festation-especially laughter. They un-
derStand this, DR.. Baxley says, and for
this reason tend to control their laugh
ter and often only smile or laugh softly.
There Is complete, sudden muscular
flaccidity. The jaw falls, the head falls
forward, the arms fall to the side, and
the patient slunps forward or falls. Re
taxation is usually a matter Of minutes
Consciousness is not lost and even though
the eyes may be closed and speech i'm
possible, everything that occurs is under
stood and described after the attack
has passed"
The first case reported by DR.. Baxley
Is that of a salesman. 80 years old.
The first intimation of the strange
disease came to this man while he was in
an Army training camp in the Winter of
1917. His company had been on a long
hike. He was overwhelmed with an alb
normal weariness. He hardly could raise
his feet.
He wanted to lay down and sleep in
the snow. BY an effort of will he COM
pleted the hike. Back in the barracks
he fell over on mis- cot, fast asleep. He
slept, he told the doctors, for two days.
Why he was allowed to do this without
being given medical attention is not ex-
planned in the case report. At the end
Of this time he was awakened and taken
to the camp hospital, where it was found
that he was suffering from high fever.
The case later was diagnosed as scarlet
fever.
He made a slow recovery and was sent
back to his company. Most Of the time
he felt as II he had been doped. He was
weak and drowsy and could not keep up
with the routine duties of the camp.
This condition continued for about
year. One night he was in vaudeville
theater. One of the comedians was
especially funny. He burst into hearty
laughter. It was as If bullet had struck
him. His lower jaw dropped. His head
fell forward on his chest. He slipped
forward in his seat.
It was as ii he was dead, and yet re-
tanned complete consciousness All his
muscles were completely relaxed. He
had no control over them-no ability to
move. The attack lasted about Is min
utes. In the darkness of the theater
nobody had noticed his plight. He could
not call for aid. Gradually he regained
the use OF his muscles, pulled himself up
in his seat, and felt as well as ever.
On returning home he leaned back in
a chair to rest and bent his head back
ward. Immediately he suffered an ex-
perience similar to that of the theater.
This was only. the beginning OF many
such attacks. He noted that they came
on when he laughed, when he leaned
back In o chair to relax and ut the same