THE USE OF SEDATIVES
i A difference of opinion between eminent; medical men is revealed in the | current number of the British Medical ' Journal. At a recent meeting a discusi sion took place on the uses and dangers of various drugs used to promote sleep. Sir William Willcox, an authority on diseases of the stomach, toxicology, and the treatment of diabetes, said that the barbituric drugs were popular because they were certain, acted quickly, and had few unpleasant after-effects. " But." lie added, " they act- on the nervous svsteni; may produce facial or visual paralysis and speech defects; are undoubtedly responsible for habit formation, and tend to predispose the patient toward suicide-' Dr U D. Gillespie said there was no foundation -for Sir William Will : cox's assertion that the repeated administration of the barbiturates in one or more daily therapeutic doses was dangerous. The allegation- that the> produced suicidal tendencies was contradicted, he added, by a study of suicide; statistics.
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New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21763, 31 March 1934, Page 7 (Supplement)
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159THE USE OF SEDATIVES New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21763, 31 March 1934, Page 7 (Supplement)
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