Evening star., 1938-06-18
OF STARS
MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress
in Field, Laboratory
and Study.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

were reported at the annual convention
Of the American Medical Association In
San Francisco yesterday.
Some which were complete mysteries
and would have meant certain death q
few years ago now can be overcome
quite easily.
Ten years ago two or three promi-
nent men In city would succumb each
year to q malady known as Addison's
disease, characterized by the skin turn
ing brown and by severe prostration.
The trouble lay in the cortex of the
adrenal gland. Death was certain.
Then all these victims were given q
new lease on life about eight years ago
by the isolation Of the hormone secreted
by this cortex. In. the time which has
elapsed since. it Gas reported by DR..
Edward H. Rynearson of Rochester,
Mimi, the mortality has been very
greatly reduced and the hitherto doomed
patients enabled to continue their regu-
lar business.
Even the hormone itself has been
found dispensable in many cases. The
improvements can be brought about by
restriction of potassium and addition of
sodium salts to the diet.
Finding Of group Of super-soldier
blood cells, who play big part in recov-
cry from pneumonia, was reported by
Oswald H. Robertson Of the University
of Chicago.
When the pneumococci first invade
the lungs, he said, the body sends out
regiments OF white blood cell soldiers to
combat them. These constitute liter
ally a suicide squad. At some point in
the disease giant germ-eating cells ap-
pear. which proceed to devour not only
the pneumococci, but the defending
white cells as well. AS soon as they ap-
pear, patient begins to get better.
X **
Hope of preventing the condition of
rigid muscles with which some children
are born was seen in a study reported by
DR.. Steele F. Stewart of Los Angeles.
This may be caused, he said, by birth
injuries. infections, instrumental deliv-
cry. premature birth or asphyxiation.
Several peculiarities stood out in his
analysis. The right side was involved
six times as often as the left after acci-
dents. The left side was involved three
time as often as the right after infec-
tions. BY far the greatest number of
SoSSo Va AASAo1ty AL bOtll lCkS 1OllUWcu
premature birth. Both arms and both
legs were most frequently affected after
asphyxiation.
DR.. Stewart compared the intelligence
rating OF children with this disability.
He found that arm involvement appar-
emily lowers intelligence and that the
more extremities involved the lower the
intelligence.
r.
One disease which is on the increase,
DR.. Philip B. Matz, research specialist
Of the Veterans Administration reported,
is cancer Of the lungs. He based his con-
clusions on statistics from veterans hos
pitfalls. One theory to account for the
increase is that it is excited by diseases
OF the respiratory tract, especially influ-
enza. The increase has been apparent
since the great pandemic Of 1918. Still
another factor is occupation. Thirty
six per cent of the cases he reported,
DR.. Matz said, had been exposed to dust
or other irritating substances in the
atmosphere.
A rare disease, severe neuritis follow
ing giving Of serum, was reported by
DR.. Abram E. Bennett of Omaha. About
lis cases have been reported in the
world during the past 80 years.
1t seems especially to follow injections
OF horse serum as a safeguard against
lockjaw, Dr. Bennett said The neuritis
developes about week after the treat
ment. The cause of the reaction is not
understood 1t may be prevented, DR..
Bennett said, by developing serum not
made from the blood of horses.
Erysipeloid, rare disease found chief
ly In workers in slaughter houses, was
described by DR.. Joseph v. Klauder of
Philadelphia. It is skin disease mimic
ing erysipelas and appears to be due to
a specific organism. It is most virulent,
DR.. Klauder reported, when contracted
from fishes, although fish themselves are
apparently immune to the organism.
In all but five Of the cases he studied
the original infection entered through
a cut in finger and spread until it
involved all the fingers and parts of the
hand. In one case it spread over the
whole body and the victim committed
suicide. Arthritis is a frequent compli-
cation.
One Of the most bafaing OF medical
problems is that of tinnitus, or roaring IN
the head. It scares the victim and not
infrequently leads to insanity and sui
eide.
1t can result from perplexing variety
Of causes, Drs. Daniel B. Hayden and
Edward L. Chainski of Chicago told the
American Medical Association. The
noise may come from the ear itself
through some impairment in the sound
conduction apparatus. It may be an
amplification of the sound of the hearts
pumping or of the sound of moving
muscles. It may be due to an inflama-
ton Of the nerve of hearing It may be
produced as subjective phenomenon Of
pernlc1ous and secondary anemia, arte-
riosclerosis, pneumonia, meningitis, tu-
berculosis, grippe, poisoning due to quin-
Inc, arsenic, alcohol or tobacco injuries
to the skull, or general mental and phys
ical exhaustion,
One cause they cited was an abnor-
mality of the bite" and urged a dental
examination for each patient afflicted
with tinnitus, where the cause is not OBJ
vious. A lot of remedies have been pro-
posed, none very generally satisfactory.
Some patients can get relief, especially
when they are asleep, by keeping a loud
ticking alarm clock close to their ears.
restricting salt in the diet
Surgery, the two doctors said, should
be the last resort. It is often malady,
they said, for which nothing can be done
except to give the victim courage to en-