Case of epilepsy cured by antipyrine / by McCall Anderson ; reported by William R. Jack.

  • Anderson, McCall, 1836-1908.
Date:
[1891]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Case of epilepsy cured by antipyrine / by McCall Anderson ; reported by William R. Jack. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    Extracted from The American Journiil of the Medical Sciences fnr May, 1891. CASE OF EPILEPSY CURED BY ANTIPYRINE. By McCall Andebsox, M.D., PROFKSSOIt OF CLINICAL MF.DICINE, GLASGOW UNIVER.SITY. Reported by William R. Jack, M.B., CM., HOUSE PHYSICIAN. J. M., aged nine years, was admitted to Ward 2 of the Western Infirmary on December 12th, 1889, suffering from fits of two and a half years' duration. His father stated that he had previously been perfectly healthy. In both father and grandfather there was a history of so-called hysterical fits, in the father between the ages of two and four, and in the grand- father between those of forty-five and fifty-seven. An aunt had a stroke twenty years ago, from which she recovered, and is still alive. Six weeks before the first fit, the boy had a fall, bruising his head just above the right ear, but there was apparently no injury to the bone. He recovered from this in about three days, and remained well until the first fit occurred, for which the parents can think of no other cause but the fall. At the beginning of the illness he had only about four to six fits daily, but they gradually increased in number until he had as many as thirty or forty. At the same time he complained of gradually increasing weakness in his right arm, but this after a time disappeared, while the left became similarly affected.. Three months afterward the fits entirely ceased, after the application of blisters to the head. An interval of fifteen months ensued, during which there were no fits, and throughout this time the general health remained perfectly good. About seven months before admission, with no apparent cause, they began again, at first only one occurring in twenty-four hours, but gradually they increased until they amounted to forty or fifty, the largest number in one day having been fifty-seven. There was no improvement until a few days before admission, during which time he had had only twelve daily. The fits occur in sleep as well as while he is awake. They are sometimes preceded by pain in the left elbow, sometimes by headache, now frontal, and now situated on the side of the head, over the right ear. _ The headache sometimes only occurs immediately before the fits, and is sometimes of longer duration. Occasionally three or more fits occur together with very little interval, but there appears to be no status epilepticus. Drowsiness, lasting for a few minutes only, often succeeds the convulsion. The right side was at first the more severely affected, but now is considerably less so than the left. The patient is perfectly intelligent. Numerous fits were seen, both by the house physician and by the