Progress

To take expensive pains to give newspapers accurate medical intelligence and then to have papers garble & scarehead an announcement was the heart sickening experience of New York doctors last week. Their New York Academy of Medicine and New York County Medical Society last year set up a medical information bureau with lago Galdston as executive secretary. Last week the bureau, on the basis of reports made by 90 leading practitioners, issued to the papers a summary of 1928's medical progress. In the summary there was carefully written: "A third discovery (in cancer) is the demonstration that the combination of ultraviolet radiation with a substance which may give rise to cancer in a suitable animal, such as tar, results in an increased effectiveness of the agent producing the cancer [i. e., tar]. This is an experimental confirmation of the well-known fact that cancer of the skin is more frequent among those exposed to excessive quantities of sunlight such as sailors or those engaged in agricultural pursuits. The explanation of the way in which such radiation acts is still to be explained. In the light of this, warning must be issued against the indiscriminate use of ultraviolet radiation lamps by people at large. These lamps are sold to the public with many promises and no warning. The history of the Xray, which when first discovered was carelessly employed and led to many deaths, should serve as a warning in the care of the ultraviolet radiations."

In newspapers this became: "Too much sunlight is conducive to cancer of the skin. Thus agricultural workers, sailors and others exposed to the sun are apparently more apt to suffer from the disease than the rest of mankind. The radiation lamps, the review says, cause the same reaction and have elements of danger."

The bureau endeavored to correct the misinterpretation of its report. But scare of sunlight, natural and artificial, had already spread throughout the country.

Deceived by press reports, Joseph C. Bloodgood, cancer expert (Johns Hopkins) spoke: "The ordinary amount of sunlight is practically never a cause of cancer. A cancer may develop from burns on the skin by the sunlight but at any stage before the cancer stage is reached, the progress of the affliction may easily be halted. The brown spots that come on the face or neck of farmers or any one who is exposed much to the sun, wind and rain may ultimately become cancers, but not at all necessarily so. They quite often are allowed to go neglected until they form a wart or a raised and rough portion of the skin. This may become scratched or irritated in some way and ultimately be a cancer, but by protection of the spots from the weather and sunlight or by treatment they may be eradicated."

Little noticed went other items in 1928's progress, as:

Internal Medicine. Liver and liver extract established for the treatment, if not absolute cure, of pernicious anemia; and their value against anemias caused by kidney disease, cancer. Polyvalent serum against pneumonia. Improved technique for oxygen treatment of pneumonia.

Surgery. Spinal anesthesia by new chemicals. Anesthesia per rectum by ether with olive oil, particularly useful where exophthalmic goitre makes a patient nervous. Human liver found to exercise a profound protective influence against harmful products entering the blood by way of the intestinal canal. Recognition that brain tumors may develop suddenly and rapidly, that the electric cautery knife makes possible more complete removal of brain and spinal cord tumors.

Traumatic Surgery. Standardization of injury treatment, important for the automobile accident increase expected for 1929. Tannic acid to coagulate scalded or burned tissues and prevent its absorption into the body.

Cancer. Connective tissue cells of connective tissue cancers in animals found by Alexis Carrel to be solely responsible for this type of malignant tumors. Killing tumor cells by X-rays or radium rays found by Charles Packard to depend upon the energy set free in the individual cell (which causes the cell's death); rather than upon the wave length of radiations. Small doses over a long period kill some types of cancer cells and do not hurt healthy cells. Ultraviolet rays increased the effect of cancer-causing, irritating substances.

Heart Disease. Increase of cardiac clinics, deeper study into the cause and pathology of heart disease.

Obstetrics & Gynecology. Rectal analgesia. Resuscitation of asphyxiated newborn by inhalation administration of carbon dioxide and by injection of alpha lobeline into the umbilical vein.

Psychiatry. Eighteen colleges teach mental hygiene (preventive psychiatry). Psychiatric methods used to combat criminology, social dependency, alcoholism.