The chemic problem in nutrition (magnesium infiltration) : a sketch of the causative factors in disorders of nutrition as related to diseases of the nervous sustem / by John Aulde ... illustrated with four plates.

  • Aulde, John.
Date:
1912
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: The chemic problem in nutrition (magnesium infiltration) : a sketch of the causative factors in disorders of nutrition as related to diseases of the nervous sustem / by John Aulde ... illustrated with four plates. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    3. Is this malady of such a character that it may appear as an intercurrent complication in the ordinary or usual diseases which prevail? (1) Taking up these questions in their order, it should be stated that magnesium infiltration is essentially a dis¬ order of the nervous system. Its development depends upon various conditions. Thus, it may appear as the actual disease, as in neuritis, neuralgia, angina pectoris, locomotor ataxia, arterio-sclerosis, or whenever the nerve supply is surcharged with magnesium—effecting insulation, by chemic transformation.1 In the case of children suffering from intestinal disorders —“summer complaint”—it is an essential element of the disease as well as a factor in prolonging convalescence, by simple replacement. Similarly, in the indigestions, affect¬ ing the stomach or intestinal tract, it is a self-perpetuating factor, the origin being traceable to over-taxing the digestive capacity, followed by “acidity.” With a restricted dietary, fresh air and proper exercise no medication is required. It precedes and follows rheumatism, and as a constant factor, is responsible for the thousand-and-one symptoms desig¬ nated subacute and chronic. In diabetes, it is the same, leading to acidosis, indicanuria, uremia, the alkalinity of the blood being reduced thirty to fifty per cent, below normal, diminishing its oxygen-carrying capacity to that extent. United wfith calcium, it is the causative factor in hardening the arteries (arterio-sclerosis), and disturbing the circulation, thus favoring senile changes and the pre¬ mature onset of old age. It is the alpha and omega of all 1 Since the completion of this article there has been devised at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, an ingenious electric contrivance which will indicate approximately the relative degree of deviation from normal in all the disorders mentioned. A wire in the magnetic field is deflected according to the amount of current flowing through it, thus enabling the medical attendant to determine relatively the degree of insulation incident to the magnesium deposits. It is an achievement of vast significance, and coming at a time when this peculiar diathesis is beginning to attract attention, it will serve the modern physician an important purpose—its intrinsic value as a guide to treatment is comparable only to the mariner’s compass.