DOCTORS' NEW HOPE

Evening Star, Issue 22448, 19 September 1936, Page 27

DOCTORS ' NEW HOPE

DISCOVERY BY AMERICANS A new anaesthetic has been discovered by two American doctors, says an English paper. It is claimed to be the greatest advance of the century for the relief of suffering in childbirth. The doctors are Dr George B. Roth and Dr Howard F. Kane, of the George Washington University medical school. Dr Roth is attached to the pharmacology laboratories, and Dr Kane is head of the obstetrical department. The great advantage of the new anajsthetic is its safety. It has been tried in 500 cases in Washington University, and has proved successful in most. It does not harm either mother or child, and after the injection the mother falls into a deep sleep. The child, it is claimed, is much more healthy. Although the new anesthetic itself is a new discovery, the chemicals which are the two chief constituents have been known to the medical profession for a long time. The one, paraldehyde, is a hypnotic and has been used for eases of delirium and nervous disorders, and as an antidote to strychnine. The other, benzly alcohol, is a mild local anaesthetic, and has been added to overcome administration difficulties in the case of the paraldehyde. Steps are shortly to be taken to introduce the discovery into this country.