Electricity and metallo-therapeutics in their application to medicine / by Creswell Hewett.

  • Hewett, Creswell.
Date:
1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Electricity and metallo-therapeutics in their application to medicine / by Creswell Hewett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    nervous system (spinal cord), in which case electrisation of the spinal cord gives better results than electrisation of the muscles (Benedikt). This was to be foreseen. Hyperkineses.—The convulsive neuroses do not appear to be affected to any great extent by electricity. Epilepsy is refractoi-y. Chorea has been benefited and cured by its means, and the most remarkable fact in connection with the subject is that ascending or exciting currents have afforded the best results. Legros and Onimus think that certain forms of chorea ought to be treated by excitants and others by hyper- sesthesiants. In fact their opinion is borne out by Trousseau's treatment of chorea by strychnine. (N.B.—The author has found more benefit derived in this disease from electricity, combined with the use of strych- nine, brucine, or igasurine than any other mode of treatment.) Legros and Onimus have recorded a case of tetanus, where a descending current combined with chloral led to a successful issue. Of course, the question arises whether electricity, without the chloral, would have led to the same result. In spasms, such as Scrivener's palsy, etc., electricity is not of much service. In'locomotor ataxy or poliomyelitis posterior-chronica, the ascending continuous current applied to the spine has occasionally ameliorated the disease, but never effected a cure-.
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