Evening star., 1954-06-06
There's New Hope for Epilepsy Victims
By chorIes J. Yorbrouoh

Life has Just begun here for q
little girl whose first nine years
were clouded by the emotional ex-
plosions Of epilepsy.
Anonymous for obvious reasons,
she thrashed as many as 10 seizures
a day. She had never been to school.
Four months ago she became the
first recipient Of oral salts devel-
oped from the study Of living. epi-
lepsy-ravaged brain cells at the Ma
tional Institutes Of Health.
She has had no further attacks,
and is in school for the first time
in her life.
DR.. Donald B. Tower, neurochem-
ist of the National Institute. Of Neu-
rological Diseases and Blindness.
and DR.. Pearce Bailey, its director.
hasten to stress the treatment is
not considered cure. It Is a con-
troll Findings in humans establish
the basis for possible development
of a more rational treatment" DR..
Tower. explained.
ArIIn9tonIon Lose
Behind the apparently successful
control in the case OF the little girl
is the dramatic story Of an altruis-
tic, courageous Arlington man who
too, has emerged from virtual life
time imprisonment behind the psy-
chic bars of epilepsy.
For the first time in his A years
he is looking for job.
A part of his courage might be his
REIMBURSEMENT Of anonymity so un-
derstandably sought by epileptics.
John Unger, jr., Of 1912 Twenty
fourth road is one of the first of
some Is persons to undergo brain
surgery at NH that biochemiStS
might acquire damaged, living cells
on which to carry out research.
In John Unger'S lifetime. every
known means of combating the di-
sease had been tried, except surgery.
He was one Of the unfortunate 20
per cent whose seizures defy the
anti-convulSant drugs which have
been the basic treatment Of epilepsy
for 70 years.
Salts Of bromine has been used
with more or less success.
Luminal has shown favorable re-
suits in diminishing the frequency
Of seizures.
$500 Seizures
John Unger had tried all of these.
His seizures, documented In diaries,
total over $500. On October 81,
1912, when he was almost 3
years old, he had his first. DR.. Bal
ley now says it probably was caused
by a brain injury at birth.
The first year he had IL. BY the
early '30s they had leaped past the
100 mark and in 1887 he suffered
241. There were 266 in 1888.
By last October l electroenceph-
alographS, recording brain waves,
pin-pointed the diseased area. iden-
titled it as focal epilepsy in the tenn
poral lobe of the brain above the
right ear.
His, then, was an ideal case for
surgery. It was an area from which
a section could possibly be removed
without destroying any vital func-
tion. It was not general over the
brain. 1t was single part, called
the temporal lobe focus"
The surgery was performed. He
went into the eight-hour ordeal
under local anesthesia fully aware
of the hazards accompanying any
brain operation. The worst danger
was the possibility that a seizure
might hit him at delicate moment
in the surgery.
IF it didn't do me some good,
it might help some one else," he said.
"If I'm lost, they might learn
something to help another person"
Actual removal of the partly
withered, misshapen area-about
the size of a baby's doubled fist
required only a few hours. During
the eight Mr.. Unger was in surgery.
doctors were actually making q
functional map of his brain.
Mr.. Unger made his contribution
to research. He also became a re-
cipient of medical care.
He has suffered no seizures since
the operation, but is still taking
anti-convulsant drugs. Doctors
don't know the full effect Of the
surgery. They may even start soon