VOL. III.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

A NEW SCHEME. The attention of every member of the State Society is directed to a copy of a letter sent to the Secretary of each Con

stituent Society, and also the letter of explanation from Secretary Black.

The scheme is certainly a departure from our old and long established custom, and will require a test to prove its wisdom.

At the last meeting held in Denver there were forty-four papers on the program, twenty-seven of which came from Denver, and seventeen from outside counties.

Under the new apportionment the Societies outside of Denver must furnish twenty-three papers, and it is up to them to make good.

There is no denying the fact that at many previous meetings there were too many papers for the time allotted to allow of free discussion, and the new rule is intended to give more time for the latter, which is often more interesting than the paper.

The new scheme will undoubtedly accomplish the object desired, but in the opinion of the editor, it would have been better to have divided the Society into as many sections as necessary, so that everyone could have had a chance to present a paper if he wished, and still have plenty of time for discussion.

A trial of the new plan, however, will determine its merits, and should it prove a detriment to the State Society, it will certainly drive more papers into the County Societies, and in the end may prove of more benefit to the profession at large than the old system.

No. 4

Two years ago the State Society voted to change from the old transactions to the journal form. The writer on that occasion opposed the change for two reasons: First, because the journal must cost at least twice as much as the transactions; and, second, under the old system the papers could be printed, bound and distributed within sixty days after the meeting, and no partiality shown as to priority.

He was out-talked and out-voted, and for the past two and one-half years we, in common with many other states, have had our own official organ, and while managing the editorial rudder, we propose to at least try to make every number equally interesting.

In order to overcome our first objection, we are endeavoring to secure enough legitimate advertising to at least pay the difference in cost between the old transactions and the new scheme, and in order to give our advertisers a square deal we must issue twelve good numbers each year.

The editor, therefore, desires to make this appeal to the loyalty of the memhers of our State Society, viz.: Be patient, and if your paper does not appear till the last issue before the annual meeting, remember that in the opinion of the editor it is as good as the best, and therefore fit to be a feature in any issue.

A SQUARE DEAL.

At a joint meeting of the Denver County Medical Society and the Denver Pharmaceutical Society held on the night of April 3d an effort was made to arrive at some "community of interest" plan by which prescribers and dispensers could work in harmony and to each other's interests. For the time being the hatchet was concealed under the olive branch and the questions agitating the two societies. were discussed in a dispassionate manner becoming the dignity of professional gentlemen. From the medical side it was

charged that the "pill rollers" were guilty of the following offenses: Prescribing for patients; advocating the use of nostrums; selling narcotics and poisonous drugs contrary to law; substituting; copying without orders; refilling ad lib when asked not to; refilling prescriptions for neighbors of the original patient; filling prescriptions wrong so as to queer the physician with the patient.

From the pharmaceutical side it was charged that physicians put too many ingredients in one prescription; too frequently prescribed proprietary nostrums; didn't appreciate a good druggist when they found one; too often supplied patients with tablets and pills instead of writing prescriptions and giving the dis

penser a chance.

These are the chief criticisms that were advanced pro and con and on the whole the meeting was very much of a love feast.

Much good, however, could be accomplished along this line if both parties would practice the precepts of the golden rule and give each a square deal.

From a medical viewpoint we believe that the remedy for all of these complaints lies within the hands of the physicians.

First-do right yourself, then request the druggist to do as you wish him and don't allow your prescriptions to go to any one who will not comply with your wishes.

MEMORIAL TO DR. N. S. DAVIS.

Dr. Henry O. Marcy of Boston, Mass., chairman of the committee to solicit funds for the purpose of providing a suitable memorial to the late Dr. N. S. Davis, founder of the American Medical Association, has appointed the writer to represent Colorado in this undertaking.

As our State Society does not meet until October, he advises that an appeal be made through the columns of COLORADO MEDICINE. Friends and admirers of the late Dr. Davis will please send in their contributions before June I, so that the report may be made at the Boston meeting. Respectfully, J. M. BLAINE.

BEAUTIES OF ELECTRICITY.

A Denver physician, whose window reads "Nose, Throat and Electricity," was recently called in an emergency to see a

gentleman who had been attacked with apoplexy. Not being a neurologist, he had to make the case fit his specialty, so he informed the family that electricity was the best treatment, and has since been applying it to the patient.

The wife, weary and worn with watching, fainted from fatigue, and our accommodating M. D. diagnosed the case "nervous prostration," and advised electricity.

After getting the parents both started on the electric route, the rest became easy. Upon inquiry, he discovered the young lady of the family suffered from dysmenorrhoea, and she, too, was put on the same treatment. Not content with three daily seances in one family, he discovered some acne spots on the young lady's face, and persuaded her to come to his office each day and bask in the effulgence of the miraculous life-giving "rays."

Great is electricity, and great is the specialist who can make grist of every case that comes to his mill.

ORIGINAL PAPERS

perience and the experiments made by Dunbar in my presence, leaving the actual

HAY FEVER.

By ROBERT LEVY, M. D., Denver, Colo. On the 5th of May, 1905, I had the pleasure of visiting Prof. Dunbar of Hamburg for the purpose of investigating and reporting upon his theory of the causation and his treatment of hay fever. Being a sufferer myself and numbering among my patients many colleagues, I had promised an exhaustive report of my personal investigations, especially in view of the fact that experiments of many of us in the treatment of this affection by means of Dunbar's remedy had proved ineffectual, while on the contrary, the reports of Dunbar, Sir Felix Semon, Mayer, McCoy, Somers, Thost, Hirschberg, McBride, Loeb, Glegg and others had raised our hopes to expectations which we had not been able to realize. Prof. Dunbar was aware of my skepticism and proceeded with great zest to convince me of the value of his theory and also show me the reason for our failures. This paper will contain the report of the experiments which were made in my presence for the purpose of proving Prof. Dunbar's theory.

Through the courtesy of Prof. Dunbar I have been supplied with a quantity of hay fever toxins with which I had hoped to demonstrate his theory before you. This, however, cannot be done at present owing to the fact that conclusive results can only be obtained at a time when hay fever is not prevalent, or in other words, during the winter months; for were we to produce hay fever symptoms in an individual at the present time, the question might arise, were these symptoms not the result of an actual attack of hay fever because of the season. It will, therefore, be necessary to content ourselves for the present with a relation of my own ex

This paper will also be further weakened by my inability to present the reports of my own clinical observations, for having returned to Denver but a few weeks ago, any beneficial effect of treatment might well be attributed to the subsidence of the affection, owing to the lateness of the season and not to the remedy.

Prof. Dunbar, although a graduate in medicine, does not devote his time to practice. He was induced to take up the study of hay fever largely because he was a sufferer himself, as well as because of his natural scientific training and occupation. He is the director of the Hygienic Institute of Hamburg and is responsible for many of the most recent advances in bacteriology and sanitation. November, 1902, he reported that he had isolated from the pollen of certain grasses a toxic substance, which produced all the symptoms of hay fever in an individual susceptible to this affection when this substance was applied to the mucous membrane of the nose or eye, or even injected hypodermically. He states in his report to me of the experiments made in my presence, that "hay fever is a toxic disease caused in susceptible individuals by a specific poison in the pollen of certain plants." This poison is not a mere mechanical irritant, but an actual chemical toxin obtained from the pollen by treating it with salt and alcohol. A proteid is thus obtained, the albumin of which is sotoxic that a 4000 of a milligram when applied to the conjunctiva of a hay fever subject produces violent reaction. It has also been recognized that one individual is not always susceptible to the same influences in the production of hay fever that other individuals are. Thus for example one patient suffers from hay fever in the spring, another suffers in the fall. One suffers in this region, another in a

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different locality more or less remote. It is well known that patients who have hay fever in Europe rarely have it in this country and vice versa. It was therefore necessary to assume that different toxines were the result of different classes of pollen. Prof. Dunbar with the able assistance of his large staff has separated the toxins into two general classes; (1) that which is the cause of the German hay fever, the pollen of grasses among which is particularly mentioned Indian corn, and (2) that which is the more common cause in America, the pollen of rag weed and golden rod. The German hay fever is apparently of a much milder type than that with which we are familiar and is probably identical with the symptoms that occur in our patients during the spring and early summer months, which are, as we know, very much milder than those which occur in the autumn.

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In order to prove the toxic nature of hay fever, the following experiment was made: A drop of the poison of ambrosia pollen or rag weed was introduced into my right eye, while a drop of a solution of the poison of Indian corn pollen was dropped into my left eye. In one minute the right eye became very much reddened, the conjunctiva swelled until chemosis occurred, which bunched over the cornea. Tears were secreted in abundance, intense itching and sneezing occurred, the nose nose became structed and quantities of mucus were discharged. Absolutely no effect was produced in the left eye. At the same time the same experiment was made upon a German patient, known to be a hay fever subject, as well as upon an individual who had never had hay fever. The effect upon the German patient was the reverse of what it had been upon me, that is to say, the eye treated with the Indian corn pollen became reddened, but to a very much milder degree, while the other eye treated by the rag weed poison

remained absolutely free from symptoms.

The non-susceptible individual showed no reaction whatever. Prof. Dunbar's conclusion was first, that persons not susceptible to hay fever did not react to the chemical components of the pollen of plants, and second, that persons susceptible to hay fever react with hay fever symptoms to a specific substance contained in pollen of certain plants. The susceptibility of all individuals therefore, is not uniform.

In continuing the experiments it was sought to prove that a disease which was evidently toxic in character may be successfully combated by a remedy which is a direct antidote to the poison. This antidote known as an anti toxin was ob

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tained by injecting the toxin into the circulation of animals until immunity was produced, when the serum of such animals might be considered as anti toxic. Young thoroughbred horses were found to be the best suited for this purpose. quantity of the anti toxin thus obtained was injected into my right eye, producing a slight amelioration of the symptoms. The beneficial effect was not entirely satisfactory to me, and although Prof. Dunbar felt that the result was good I was not relieved from the symptoms produced by the toxin for several days thereafter. This, however, can be readily explained on the grounds that the poison having taken a violent hold upon an unusually susceptible individual should have been combated by a larger quantity and a longer continuance of the remedy.

That the anti toxin is a distinct antidote to the toxin was proved to my entire satisfaction by the following experiments: The same quantity of the ambrosia poison which had previously so severely affected my right eye, in double the strength, was mixed with an equal quantity of anti toxin serum and injected into the left eye, which had resisted the application of the German poison. There