New Serum-Therapy

The greater part of this book consists of the histories of patients treated by the oral administration of anti-diphtheritic serum and of simple plasma from the horse, sheep, &c. Anti-diphtheric serum in doses of one drachm given orally every one to 6 hours, the author considers a specific against inflammation, either simple or septic, and so certain does he consider its action in aborting inflammation to be that when it fails within 48 hours to materially reduce the symptoms he commits himself to the diagnosis of pus. If pus has formed, but the abscess has not been opened, the serum increases, the tension and pain, but after discharge of pus is provided by incision, it accelerates the healing process. Particulars of good results are given in various inflammatory diseases, which, however, do not include pneumonia; here harm appears to result from the administration of the serum. Among non-septic diseases, benefit is claimed in midwifery in cases of shock and loss of blood and after pains, to insure involution and to maintain a debilitated patient's tone. He adds that in epilepsy where the mental and physical health are impaired by the disease, these are restored by the use of the serum, although the epilepsy itself is not improved. In traumata he claims that anti-diphtheritic serum has shown