A CURE FOR LEPROSY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 258, 26 July 1920, Page 8

A CURE FOR LEPROSY

»- ■ SATISFACTORY EXPERIMENTS. Leprosy, one of tho world's most dreaded maladies, which has .been regarded since early history as a hopeless and incurable scourge of humanity, appears to have been conquered at last by medical science, according, to an announcement by Surgeon General Hugh 8. Civramingss, of the United States Public Health Service.

The basis of tho cure is apparently the administration of an acidic solution of "ester" obtained from chaulmoogra oil. This oil is pressed from the seeds of tho fruit of an East Indian tree, the chaulmoogra, and it lias long been used in the treatment of various constitutional and cutaneous diseases.

"The starting point in the belief that, leprosy could be cured (reports the ".New York Evening Post") was the observation that now and then the course of tho iliseaso appeared to be favourably influenced by treatment with chaulmoogra oil. Hut the treatment whs attended with maiiy difficulties and-could.not.be carried out in. all cases. At this point the Public Health Servico enlisted the co-operation of Professor L. E.Dean, head of tho chemical department of tho College of Hawaii, suggesting that attempts be made either to isolate the active constituent of this drug, or to devise means for making its continued administration feasible. The latter was accomplished by preparing what is known as an "ethyl ester" from the chaulmoogra oil. The treatment has been carried on nt tho Leprosy Investigation Station at Kali hi, Hawaii, the work being directed by Dr. J. T. M'Donald, director of the station. The results have thus far been so satisfactory that lepers come willingly for treatment, and following a course of treatment extending about one year fortyeight lepers were paroled in October, 1919. Up to now they have remained free from disease." .