Evening star., 1939-05-18
Use Of PainkiI|ers
In 0bstetrica|
Cases Upheld
Danger Not Increased,
Two 6. W. U. Doctors
Report to A. M. A.
BY THOMAS X. HENRY,
Star staff Correspondent.

ny
Star STAFF Correspondent.
ST. LOUIS, May 18.-Use of pain
reducing drugs in childbirth does
not increase the danger to either
mother or child. according to a sta
tistical study of 800 births reported
to the American Medical Associa-
ton here today by Drs. Jacob Kotz
and Morton S. Kaufman of George
Washington University.
Five hundred of these cases were
given paraldehyde, introduced as
an obstetrical painkiller few
years ago by Drs. Howard Kane
and George H. Roth of the George
Washington faculty. In these cases,
they reported, there were II deaths,
seven Of which were due to causes
in no way associated with the par
aldehyde. In the remaining four
cases death was aScribed to atelec-
tasis, or imperfect expansion Of the
lung, which may have been due
indirectly to the analgesic.
I'VE feel that in any group as
large as this a like percentage will
die from the same cause" they said,
regardless of whether analgesia
was used or not"
To study the effect of analegsia on
the baby's first breath a stop watch
was used. They found that the in
fants born with the aid of drugs
breathed on an average after 80
seconds. The group born sponta-
neously breathed in slightly less
than 10 seconds. They found no
evidence, however, that this delay
did any harm. 1t seems reasonable,
they said, that since the infant be-
fore birth does not have his full
quota OF oxygen slight prolonga-
tlon Of this state after delivery will
not cause any grave damage, pro-
vided the oxygen want does not be-
come too severe. Injury to the
child's brain has been attributed
to this want of oxygen but the two
Washington doctors found that such
injuries were just as common in
cases in which analgesia was not
used. Only in premature babies,
they said, does slight delay in
breathing increase the risk.
New Brain Disease.
They were surprised to find, they
said, that those babies born without
any analgesia lost weight faster
after birth than the others Careful
checking of temperature, pulse aud
respiration showed no significant
differences The babies whose moth
ers received painkilling drugs were
slightly more drowsy during the
first "a hours, but had Just as good
appetites.
A new type of brain disease caused
by heavy deposits Of calcium in the
brain tissues was reported today bv
Drs. L. McKendree Eaton and Sam
uel F. Haines of Rochester, Minr..
1t appears, they said, in persons suf-
fering from a deficiency of the hor-
none secretion of the parathyroid
glands in the neck and is character
lied by mental deterioration and
convulsions.
Their X-rays showed that the CAL
cium was deposited in the brain in
symmetrical areas. Treatment with
large amounts of calcium and COD
liver oil improved all three of their
patients to some degree. A 14-year-
old boy ceased to have convulsions
and was doing well in school 13
months after he was seen by the
physicians. A 28-year-old woman's
intelligence quotient rose nearly 10
points after she got the same treat
ment.
Adequate treatment of a para
thyroid insufficiency with calcium
thus improves the mental condition
and stops the convulsions, but does
not change the condition of the
brain itself, they found. They con-
cluded, therefore, that the calcifica-
tion OF brain tissue does not cause
these conditions but that all three
are symptoms of deficient function
ing of the glands.
Vitamin ID for Acne.
Treatment of acne, the disfgur-
ing face eruption of adolescents,
was improved in more than rs per
cent of the cases treated with vita
min D, 1t was reported by DR.. Mer-
lin T. R. Maynard Of San Jose, Calf.
He found it more than satisfac-
tory substitute. he said, for X-ray
treatment, which alone has done
much good in the past. The vita
min, he said, also helps other skin
diseases such as alopecia, character
lied by bald patches, and sclero-
derma, characterized by thickened,
pigmented patches on the skin.
THE response of chronic, inham-
matory disease to agencies modify
ing the serum and tissue calcium
and phosphorus" he explained,
can be brought about by a mobiliz-
ing influence which may be either
vitamin D, parathyroid hormone,
injected calcium, increased acidity
of the intestinal contents or the
tissues, anterior pituitary hormone,
or a combination of several"
Vitamin D is substance essen
tial to calcium metabolism. 1t is
found in limited quantities in egg
yolk, cream and butter. and in cod
liver oil. 1t may be artificially pro-
duced in foods, and also in the hu-
man skin, by irradiation with ultra
violet light.
Experiments showing that the
formation of "gas" in the stomach
and esophagus can produce severe
disturbances in the heart were de-
scribed by Drs. Lester NJ Morrison
and William A. Swain of Temple
University, Philadelphia. They
rugged up an apparatus by which
they could have a person swallow
a balloon and record the behavior of
the stomach and esophagus at diff
ferent levels at the same time that
records were being made of the
hearts action. Two persons known
to have angina pectoris had typical
attacks and two with other types
of heart disease experienced severe
distress. The attacks were relieved
promptly by release of the expert
mental distention, an effort similar