Friday, July 4, 2008
SHINGLES, VARICELLA, EPILEPSY, AND THE WEATHER
"SHINGLES, VARICELLA, EPILEPSY, AND THE WEATHER" by J. Pereira Gray, April 3, 1920 for The Brittish Medical Journal
Sir, - I have read Dr. James Taylor’s paper (February 28th, p. 282) with keen interest, as it dealt with subjects which have attracted my attention for a good many years. There is, no doubt, a close connexion between shingles and chicken-pox. At any rate, they frequently occur together or closely follow each other. But whether the one is the cause of the other or both are dependent on a common factor must be left an open question.
There is, also a very close relation between shingles and epileptic fits. For instance, on February 9th, the report of the Meteorological Office was “considerable amount of low cloud,” and I saw on that day one case of shingles and a patient who had four severe epileptic fits. On February 10th, with “sky mainly covered with low cloud,” I had another case of shingles and another of epileptic fits. On February 20th, with “much low cloud,” I saw two fits and a case of herpes zoster. At the Exeter Poor Law Institution we know when to expect fits by noting the meteorological readings for the day. It might well be that chicken-pox, like shingles and epilepsy, are “pressor diseases” due to vasomotor changes caused by atmospheric pressure.
There is a clinical fact which I have not seen alluded to before which lends support to the theory that fits are precipitated by arterial hypertension. I allude to their complete cessation in pyrexia. Chronic epileptics who contract a disease by which the temperature is raised immediately become free from fits during that period. I believe that it is the gradual rise or temperature during the fits that brings the attack to an end. On these premises I have been in the habit of exhibiting vaso-dilators – the citrates, the nitrates – with the occasional addition of bromides to my epileptic patients. When an epileptic states that the bromides do him good, but unfortunately they bring out an ugly rash, the correct thing to do is to administer the drug in combination with vaso-dilators, and the bromide rash will not appear. In the prevention of the bromide and iodide rash vaso-dilators are infinitely superior to the much lauded arsenio.
There is one other disease which has a very close connexion with chicken-pox, and that is impetigo contagiosa. It is a very common experience with me to see this skin disease rampant during an epidemic of chicken-pox, and it is caused obviously by local inoculation in children immune by a former attack of chicken-pox. – I am, etc.,Exeter, March 1st (Published in The British Medical Journal on April 3, 1920)
J. Pereira Gray
Sir, - I have read Dr. James Taylor’s paper (February 28th, p. 282) with keen interest, as it dealt with subjects which have attracted my attention for a good many years. There is, no doubt, a close connexion between shingles and chicken-pox. At any rate, they frequently occur together or closely follow each other. But whether the one is the cause of the other or both are dependent on a common factor must be left an open question.
There is, also a very close relation between shingles and epileptic fits. For instance, on February 9th, the report of the Meteorological Office was “considerable amount of low cloud,” and I saw on that day one case of shingles and a patient who had four severe epileptic fits. On February 10th, with “sky mainly covered with low cloud,” I had another case of shingles and another of epileptic fits. On February 20th, with “much low cloud,” I saw two fits and a case of herpes zoster. At the Exeter Poor Law Institution we know when to expect fits by noting the meteorological readings for the day. It might well be that chicken-pox, like shingles and epilepsy, are “pressor diseases” due to vasomotor changes caused by atmospheric pressure.
There is a clinical fact which I have not seen alluded to before which lends support to the theory that fits are precipitated by arterial hypertension. I allude to their complete cessation in pyrexia. Chronic epileptics who contract a disease by which the temperature is raised immediately become free from fits during that period. I believe that it is the gradual rise or temperature during the fits that brings the attack to an end. On these premises I have been in the habit of exhibiting vaso-dilators – the citrates, the nitrates – with the occasional addition of bromides to my epileptic patients. When an epileptic states that the bromides do him good, but unfortunately they bring out an ugly rash, the correct thing to do is to administer the drug in combination with vaso-dilators, and the bromide rash will not appear. In the prevention of the bromide and iodide rash vaso-dilators are infinitely superior to the much lauded arsenio.
There is one other disease which has a very close connexion with chicken-pox, and that is impetigo contagiosa. It is a very common experience with me to see this skin disease rampant during an epidemic of chicken-pox, and it is caused obviously by local inoculation in children immune by a former attack of chicken-pox. – I am, etc.,Exeter, March 1st (Published in The British Medical Journal on April 3, 1920)
J. Pereira Gray
Labels: Atmospheric Pressure, Epilepsy, Seizures, Shake That Seizure News, Weather
¶ 1:10 PM
