Evening star., 1944-05-07
BY Frank Carey,
Associated Press Science Writer.

Associated Press Science Writer.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark.-The most COM
prehensive attack ever made by military
medicine on the riddle Of rheumatism
has been launched here in an attempt
to salvage more soldier victims and to
throw light on one Of the great cripplers
of mankind.
Rheumatism in its commonest forms
Rheumatic fever, arthritis and mus
cular rheumatism-has cost the Army
thousands of men in reflections and dis
charges.
Rheumatism is the most prevalent Of
chronic diseases in the United States,
claiming almost 100000 sufferers
from infants to grandmothers. It ac-
counts for 10000 permanent invalids,
necessitates approximately $1,000, 600
lost work days annually and costs about
5000 600 900 year in governmental, in
dustrial and insurance compensation
payments. .
Rheumatism Center. l.
Surg. Gen. Norman T. Kirk has
designated historic Army and Navy
General Hospital here as the "rheuma-
tism center" for the entire Army. Brig.
Gen. Ralph H. Goldthwaiite, hospital
commandant, has instituted a broadly
expanded program with these aims:
/. Restoration of more men to mill
tary duty.
2. Lowering of disqualification time for
ali rheumatic sufferers through recon-
ditioning"
3. The training and educating of pa
tients who must eventually be dis
charged as disabled so they'll be able, in
the majority OF cases. to carry on useful
lives.
4. Studies on special drugs, such as
penicillin and the newer sulfonamides,
hitherto untried against rheumatic arth-
ritis, which attacks joints and is con-
s1dered the most crippling of all forms.
D. Application of the discovery that
Suta drugs may be employed as
preventive against recurrence of rheu-
matte fever, which shows in Joints and
then attacks the heart. A common cause
OF disability and death in adults, it is
the No. l killer of children.
6. Further, intensive appraisal of
promising leads" toward q possible
cure for rheumatoid arthritis and some
other forms OF rheumatism. These
leads include observations that the
disease is checked temporarily in women
during pregnancy, and in persons suf-
1erlng from certain forms of jaundice.
Z. Research cooperation with a spe-
clal United States commission which is
conducting field studies at Camp Car.
son, Colo. designed to prevent rheu-
matlc 1eVer among soldiers by killing
hemolytic streptococcus germs in the
atmosphere. These organisms cause a
tnroat infection which usually precedes
tne onset OF rheumatic fever, but there
is no evidence yet that they are the
specific cause of the fever itself.
Cause and Cure.
There will be no basic changes in
other departments of the 1,2OO-bed gen.
eral hospital on Hot Springs noun
tain. Lieut.. Col. Philip Hench, formerly
OF the Mayo Clinic and chief of the
hospitals medical service, explains that
this is important because "determina-
ton of the cause and cure for rheuma-
tism may we'll come from treatment
of a patient with some other disease.
Therefore, it is important that the
rheumatism specialists maintain haison
with experts in other fields"
While knowledge of the nature of
rheumatism still is nebulous after many
years of research, medical science has
made advances in arresting the progress
Of the disease:
The use of sulfa drugs as a prophy-
Tactic in persons susceptible to rheu-
matte fever, injections OF gold salts in
carefully selected cases of chronic rheu-
matoid arthritis, and the injection of
certain Notwithstanding typhoid vac
cine-which induce q controlable fever
and furnish heat beneficial to the
patient.
All these are being employed at the