Vol XVI, No 4 (1909)

It is highly characteristic of the development of our science that such an important, independent disease as nervous and mental illness due to arteriosclerosis has attracted attention only very recently. Indeed, how can one explain that at a time when extremely rare diseases were studied with special care, the knowledge of which is of no practical importance, in view of their incurability, diseases so relatively frequent and so important in practical terms as nervous and mental disorders on the basis of arteriosclerosis, did not attract attention, were not the subject of a thorough, comprehensive study.

Despite the fact that sleep is one of the most common and necessary physiological states, and dreams or dreams are so inherent in the state of sleep that they are often experienced by everyone, and for some even seem to be inevitable companions of sleep, the general public is little aware of the origin of dreams, and especially with the conditions for the occurrence of their content. But the inquisitive human mind, of course, cannot leave dreams without an attempt at an explanation; however, proceeding to an explanation without a sufficient stock of knowledge on the one hand and with the presence of superstition and the influence of mysticism, which the educated classes of society are not alien to, on the other.

The issue of damage to the neuropsychic sphere due to traumatic injuries or shock is now more and more gaining attention, both for medical specialists and for individuals or enterprises interested mainly materially in the fate of the victims, equally and to the extent of this or that. other liability for the accident.

In the field of mentality, the subject represents a significant degree of mental retardation. So, he knows that he is on trial for theft, that by order of the court he was sent to a lunatic asylum, but he cannot say for what purpose - for testing or treatment. He believes that for treatment, since he considers himself healthy with his mind, he only has seizures. What kind of seizures, what they consist of, he can’t convey anything, he just says that “they happen differently: sometimes on the new moon, sometimes less often, sometimes more often and so quickly passing that mother doesn’t have time to come up, as there’s nothing with me, but There are others that are longer.

The authors believe that during epilepsy, or in some of its cases, a gland with an internal compartment plays an important role. Therefore, in the treatment of epilepsy, it should be borne in mind whether there are disorders in the function of one or another similar gland and, in the case of positive data, direct its influence in this direction. glands, then in the region of the adrenal glands, ovaries, liver, cerebral appendage, and so on. Of these 17 cases, seven died in status epilepticus, three died suddenly and the rest from random events. In all these cases, a glandular lesion with internal separation was found.

Damage to the roots during inflammation of the membranes of the spinal cord, according to the study of the author and the still unpublished observations of Thomas, is explained by the anatomical structure of their sheaths. The latter, as is known, represent a continuation of the spinal meninges, with the subarochnoid space containing cerebrospinal fluid communicating with the excretory lymphatic tracts. The beginnings of these paths are so narrow that the shaped elements easily linger in them.

The article contains travel notes about the nature of the Congo and the life of the Negroes inhabiting it. Information about sleeping sickness (Trypanozomiasis humana), due to circumstances, is limited to a description of the fly Glossina palpalis (carrier of infection) and a list of symptoms that the author observed with this disease in his random patients.

The article describes the symptomatology of the disease and describes his own case of clearly expressed syringomyelia.

The authors present two of their own observations, representing the symptom complex characteristic of the lesion of the cerebral stalk, where the sign of Argyll-Bobertson was stated. Syphilis was excluded in both cases. From this, the authors conclude that the Argyll-Bobertson mechanism lies in the region of the brain pedicle.

In the described case, a patient with a marked heredity from early childhood suffered from polydipsia, headaches, dizziness, increased tendon reflexes, trembling, and epileptiform seizures at long intervals. At the age of 7-8 years. progressive loss of vision. Later glucosuria and progressive prostration.

The author concludes that it is not possible to prove the presence of the Babinski reflex in doubtful cases, where the usual method is of little evidence, using a strong faradic current.

The author made studies of food glycosuria on 41 patients of various forms; the patient was given from 150.0 to 25.0 grapes. sugar gradually lowering and examined urine in the next 4-5 hours. The results are negative. The boundary of carbohydrate assimilation changes under the influence of age; mental illness does not significantly affect the absorption of carbohydrates (with the exception of alcoholic psychoses).

Janet, Pitres and others promote the idea of an independent form of mental disorder - psychasthenia, which is a symptom complex of various phobias, violent phenomena, an anxious state of mind, and so on. The author adheres to the previous views that it is nothing more than a neurasthenia, complicated by various mental disorders, such as doubt, fatigue, weakness of the intellect, etc., on degenerative soil.

In the named work, the author gives the literature of the issue (185 works), studying in a comprehensive way the history of the doctrines about the essence of Basedow's disease.

Chapter II is devoted to the statistics of operations on the cervical sympathetic nerve; Three types of surgery are considered: nerve transection, partial resection of the nerve, and complete resection of the cervical sympathetic nerve with all three nodes and even with the upper thoracic. The results of the operations of various authors for all three methods are summarized by the author in one table.

Hydriatic procedures for the use of the mentally ill began to be used only in relatively recent times. According to the author, the most common procedure is warm baths at t° 35°-37°C. lasting 10-12 hours. and more. Such a bath has a calming effect on the state of excitation in various psychoses, often causing prolonged sleep. Such baths are especially beneficial in dementia parecox, in the manic stage of progressive paralysis, and in delirium; good results are also obtained with arteriosclerotic and senile forms.

The author is a great supporter of ischias infiltration therapy. Like other authors, he ascribes the effect of treatment not to the medicinal composition of the liquid, but to the hydrodynamic influence of the liquid injected in large quantities. For this purpose, a syringe of 100-120 ctm. is used, filled with a sterilized Nacl solution, injected under strong pressure with the patient in a knee-bent position, in that place of the outer side of the tendon m. biceps femoris, where it touches the lower edge of the gluteal muscles.

Through experiments on rabbits, Dr. Vladychko establishes that in tobacco, in addition to nicotine, there is another toxic active substance of unknown chemical composition, which causes emaciation without noticeable anatomical changes in organs. Other symptoms of tobacco poisoning, regardless of the method of using it (smoking, sniffing, chewing), the author, based on his own research and literature data, refers to nicotine.

The organizing committee of the third congress of domestic psychiatrists, convened in St. Petersburg from December 27,1909 to January 5,1910, in accordance with the decision of the commission for the establishment of the Russian Union of Psychiatrists and Neuropathologists, informs fellow psychiatrists and neuropathologists that on January 2 at 8 pm there will be a meeting of the founders of the union. (Speech No. 328).

Do not refuse to place on the pages of your respected newspaper the following letter to the editor.

The organization of the “Society for the Care of the Deaf, Blind and Mute in Russia” and in our homeland filled the gap of unfulfilled moral obligations to the unfortunate deaf and mute. Formerly forgotten, these "living dead" have now received the right to charity, and some of them to education, as is already customary in the cultural countries of the West.

Dr. P. M. Krasin. The report of the speaker and the demonstration of the brilliant success of the operation are of great interest. As you know, the treatment of severe forms of clubfoot is carried out by Ch. arr. on the bones - in adults, wedge-shaped osteotomy. operation Hoffa and husking tali—an operation proposed by Lorenz. The first operation in its pure form gives a strong dorsal flexion and supination; the second is the same, but corrects the foot better. But in severe cases, these operations, in my opinion, are not applicable; one or another combination is needed, in the spirit proposed and carried out in this case by Professor I. A. Praksin.