MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9307, 16 September 1893, Page 1 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

A NEW CURE FOR DIPHTHERIA. In the Normandie M£dicale of Rouen there is an interesting account of a new and so far wonderfully successful treatment of diphtheria. It appears thab in the village of Neuville-Cliamp-d'Oisel, about nine miles from Rouen, a malignant type of the disease broke out last year. The country doctor, M. Frederick Flahant, treated the cases in the usual way, bub the deaths were numerous. Remembering, as he says, that the English use petroleum -as an anti-spasmodic and an antiseptic, he determined to try it as an experiment. His first trial was in the case of a little girl seven years old. He had already given her up and proposed to the parents to make the experiment, which consisted in swabbing the throab with common petroleum. He had little hope of the success of his new method, bub to his astonishment he noticed an improvement after the very first application. Ho continued the treatment, and the child recovered. Then he tried *it successfully with his other patients. This year he had 40 cases of diphtheria to treat, and he was successful in every one. In order to be perfectly sure that the cases in question were genuineones of malignant diphtheria, he had the expectorated matter submitted to the analysis of Professor Francois Hue, of the Rouen College of Medicine, and the professor reported that he had clearly discovered the presence in it of numerous bacilli of diphtheria. Moreover, his diagnosis was confirmed by Drs. Deshayes, Lerefait, and Ballay, of Rouen, the last-named being the physi-cian-in-chief of the hospital of that city. The treatment presents little difficulty or danger. The swabbing is done every hour or every two hours, according to the thickness of the membranes, which become, as it were, diluted under the action of the petroleum. The brush, after being dipped in the petroleur , should bo shaken to prevent any drops falling into the respiratory channels. The patients experiencerelief from the very first application. The disagreeable taste of the petroleum remains for a few moments only. THE "ELIXIR OF LIFE." Dr. L. L. Smith, of Melbourne, on his recent visit to Europe paid a visit to Paris, and attended a course of lectures under Dr. Brown-Sequard, whose remedies he intends to introduce in his practice. Dr. Smith says that Dr. Sequard said to him: "I was a decrepid old man on lsb June, 1889 ; see what I am now! and this has been brought aboub by the injection of the orchitic liquid." Dr. Sequard now, at 76, is a perfecb young man in erery respect, and his high scientific attainments are acknowledged by the whole of the medical profession of Europe. He gives the case of Professor Carl Vogt, of Geneva, changed by the system ; the case of an English gentleman 91 years old, published by Dr. Variot; the case of a lady 96 years old, treated by Dr. de Poux; and the case of a lady 93 years of age, treated by Dr. Masnet; also many others, who were all cured or relieved of various diseases and rejuvenated. Twelve hundred practitioners have applied to Dr. Sequard and Professor d'Arsonvat for information, and 1600 cases have been treated with ; the orchitio liquid, furnished gratuitously to qualified medical men, conditionally that they would send the history of the case first and afterwards furnish an accouqfc of the treatment),,