The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-07-16

have had great deal of attention in the newspapersand in the mag azines, but whose exact value is still not yet positively determined.
 Recently when 1t was demon- strated that the disease is trans mitted to the monkey by the pass ing of the infected material into the nose it was suggested that the nose might be blocked by the use of various sprays or inoculations of various sorts. The one on which the investigators finally set tied was l per cent zinc sulfate solution This seemed to, be able to protect the monkey against an experimental injection of the in- fected material.
 However, since the method was tried on fairly large scale last summer, it has been found that in some instances, because of the conditions within the nose in many people, t.:e solution dam ages the nerves of smell to such an extent that there is a loss of the sense of smell for long pe- riod of time, if not permanently. Obviously this is not desirable effect.
 This effect seems to occur much more often in grown-ups than in children. In children the sense of smell seems to return within few weeks in the vast majority of cases.
 Although these injections are usually not painful, in some in- stances when the nose is of such character that the solution is held for a long time in contact with the tissues of the nervous system, there may be some pain. The in- vestigators are now working out methods which may overcome this undesirable complication.
 Finally, it must be remembered that the method is not permanent but will protect only for period of perhaps month or six weeks, after which the method may have to be repeated. No doubt during the summer the appearance of epidemics of infantile paralysis may make possible more exten- sive and better controlled tests and thus prove either the value of this method of prevention or its failure.
 As has already been mentioned, among the most difficult of the cases are those in which there is paralysis of the ability to breathe. The famous case of the Snite boy is an example in which the use of the new device, known as the iron lung, has been of great value.
 This device is one in which the entire body of the patient is in- serted By the creation of a mega tive pressure, automatically con- trolled breathing is made possible. Unfortunately, in some of the most severe cases the apparatus, while it keeps the patient alive for a while, is unable to do much more than to prolong the exist ence without very much promise of complete recovery.
 In the acute cases the device will help sometimes to maintain life until recovery begins.
 The parents of children who have this disease, and the child himself, should be given every possible encouragement. Today there are innumerable records of men and women who have been crippled by infantile paralysis and who have made sufficient re- covery to take care of themselves thereafter.
 Throughout the country means are being developed for rehabili- tation and re-education of those crippled by infantile paralysis. The national foundation which has been established in making avail able the combined knowledge of experts in various phases of the attack on this disease. Modern medicine has shown that most of the serious diseases that attack human beings can be conquered. With more and more research and with greater facilities for the care of the cripled, the future is not dis couraging.