The Ohinemuri Gazette. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 1911. REMARKABLE CURES OF THE INSANE.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume XXII, Issue 2781, 26 April 1911, Page 2

The Ohinemuri Gazette. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 1911. REMARKABLE CURES OF THE INSANE.

Remarkable instances ot the cure .of insanity are given by Dr George M. Robertson, physician superintendent of the Royal Edinburgh Asylum for the insane, in his annual report, published in "The Scotsman." "Among the

recoveries during 1910," says Dr Robertson, " a series of three cases of a most instructive kind shows the progress that science is slowly but surely making. Two at least of these cases would have been deemed incurable twenty years ago. The first patient suffered from the insanity of myxoedema, a disease due to the defective secretion of a gland in the neck, called the thyroid. Owing to the absence of this secretion from her blood, in a few weeks' time the whole body increased in bulk and the movements became slow, the expression of

face changed completely, and even the tone of voice altered in character. She became childish in mind, expressed silly delusions, and heard imaginary voices. The patient was given tablets prepared from the thyroid gland of the sheep, and in a week she was transformed from a misshaped stupid object into a bright and pleasant-featured woman—her natural self —and quite unrecognisable as the creature of a week before. A few centuries ago these kaleidoscopic changes would have been put down to magic, the spell of an offended wizard transforming her body and soul, and a counter-charm restoring her original shape and personality. Today every medical man knows the secret, and people have ceased to be astonished at such things. Nevertheless, it was a miracle ot science. The second case of insanity was due to an excess of the secretion of the thyroid in the blood. This tends to produce great

nervousness and excitability, and many

other symptoms, such as palpitation. There is a theory, not yet established, that excess ol thyroid secretion is neutralised by a substance in the blood. In this case, according to the theory, there was not sufficient of this substance

to neutralise the great excess, so she

was supplied for this purpose with serum from a goat whose thyroid gland had been removed. In this serum none of the special substance had been used

up, there being no secretion present, and, apparently as the result of this treatment, the patient recovered." Dr Robertson adds :—" A feature of the research work recently done in our

laboratories is the wave of optimism it

has produced."