Evening star., 1937-06-11

before the operation. On the other
hand, they will keep trying indef1-
nitely-so long that the experimenters
get tired watching them and 60 to
bed. A chimpanzee with an intact
brain will 60 into a tantrum after
a few unsuccessful trials.
On the basis of the loss Of intelli-
gence, DR.. Jacobsen raised the ques-
ton as to whether the persons oper-
ated on by Or. Freeman and Dr.
Watts were not paying too heavy a
price for the relief of1orded.
DR.. Watts described the operations
performed at George Washington
University Hospital and insisted that
they were performed only as a last
resort, when all other treatment
seemed hopeless. They have, he said,
enabled some to go back to work
at good salaries who otherwise seemed
doomed to lives of dependency
Hope was held out for some Of the
most pitlable victims OF nervous dis
ease through new operation on the
spinal cord described by DR.. Tracy j.
Putnam of Boston. These are the
sufferers, usually children, Of the con-
dltion known as athetosis. The VIC
TINS are unable to control the move
ments of their hands or legs. They
60 into spasm after Spasm. They
can't walk They must be strapped
IN their chairs and are unable to lie
in bed. Because they can't control
the movements of their hands, they
are unable to write or do any other
manual task and are entirely depend
ent on others. Mentally they usually
are unaffected.
In the past the condition has been
practically hopeless. A little has
been accomplished through directed
exercise and some relief obtained in
few cases by opening the skull and
cutting out large section of that
part of the frontal lobe lying Just
behind the area blocked off by the
pre-frontal lobotomy of the Washing
ton doctors which controls move
ments OF the body. This was de-
scrlbed as quite a dangerous pro-
cedure because of the possibility OF
infection and of general paralysis.
Dr. Putnam has devised an operation
in which some of the descending nerve
tracts in the spinal cord are severed.
Thus the impulses from the brain
which seem responsible for the spasms
are cut off. In no case has there been
complete cure, but several of his cases
have been markedly benefited. The
great danger. he pointed out has been
from paralysis of the breathing ap-
paratus, but this has been successfully
overcome through modification of
the operation.
Some Of the queer things folks get
in their throats and lungs and means
Of getting them out were described by
Col. Royal Reynolds Of the Army Med
ical Corps. Cases handled by the Army
doctors include swallowing of coin, a
screw, false teeth, piece of tin and
celluloid rattle. In one case a piece
of shrapnel lodged in soldiers lungs
during the World War caused no
trouble for ten years. Then the man
began to have hemorrhages, tired
easily and coughed. The shrapnel was
removed with bronchscope.
Use of Halibut Oil.
Unexpected improvement in the dis
ease known as muscular dystrophy, in
which the muscles become progressive
ly weaker and paralyzed until death,
resulted from treatment with halibut
oil and viosterol given to patient with
rickets, it was reported by DR.. Daniel
V. Conwell of Kansas City. This led to
trial with other victims OF this curious
disease. OF 30 treated IA were able to
return to normal activity and six can
carry on ordinary activity with some
limitation. Five now can take care of
themselves and do some light work.
Four died. Most OF the cases had been
growing more and more helpless for
years before the treatment was started
Two new treatments for severe dis
orders Of muscles were reported by Drs.
Foster Kennedy and Alexander Wolf,
New York neurologists. One was the
administration Of q drug known as