New Brain Disease, And Cure, Found

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29269, 29 July 1960, Page 13

New Brain Disease, And Cure, Found

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, July 28. A brain defect, which makes some people commit unprovoked assaults and causes others to lose their memory, can be simply cured by eating more sugar, according to a report in the “London Clinic Medical Journal.”

The disease has only recently been recognised during research work by Dr- Barry Wyke, at the department of physiology. Royal College of Surgeons. It is, however, apparently quite common as he found 86 cases among 4205 neurological patients. In its mildest form, Wyke’s disease produces headache and tension or pain in the abdomen, accompanied by loss of memory, which may cause the patient to go astray while finding his way home. One victim was almost charged with breaking and entering because he attempted to enter the wrong house. Seriously ill patients shiver and sweat and eventually lapse into a coma. Others suffer mounting emotional tension, irritability and confusion and have seizures in which they become violently aggressive. They may commit unprovoked assaults, and may even be certified as insane. Some are so violent that they have to be held down forcibly while undergoing clinical examination.

The symptoms are caused by a defect in an enzyme in the brain which converts glucose into energy. Because of this faulty enzyme, insufficient glucose reaches the brain cells to make them function' normally, even though the patient may have as much sugar in the blood as anyone else. The condition is cured by finding out how much sugar the affected person needs to make his brain work normally, and then building up the sugar in the diet until sufficient glucose is produced. Since the disease was recognised certain criminal charges have been dropped against persons now known to be victims, and a number of persons have been released from hospitals in normal mental health. The cause of the disease is still unknown, but two types have been identified by Dr. Wyke. In one, the complaint has a genetic foundation. In the other, it has been brought on in patients receiving treatment with hormones such as cortisone, or that from the thyroid gland.