CHAPTER XIII.
REMEDIES FOR EPILEPSY.
The nostrums which appear to be most advertised at the present time for the treatment of epilepsy afford a good example of the fact which has been previously pointed out that in some instances the vendors of secret preparations make use of drugs in common use by the medical profession for the treatment of some particular disorder; this is, of course, only possible when the symptoms are well-marked and easily recognised. As will be seen from the analyses given below of a number of nostrums advertised as remedies for epilepsy it was found that all, with one exception, contained bromide salts, that is to say, a drug the effect of which is described and discussed in every medical work dealing with the disease; nevertheless, the advertisers endeavour to lead the purchaser to believe that the preparations possess peculiar virtues unknown to the medical profession. The exceptional preparation contains vervain (_Verbena officinalis_) which held a place in the old pharmacopœias and herbals, chiefly as an astringent application to wounds or as a lotion for sore mouth. Dodoens (1572) says it is good for headache applied as a plaster, while Gerarde (1633) mentions its use as a garland round the head for the same condition, but he disapproves of the many old wives’ tales told regarding it which tend to sorcery, and are such as honest ears abhor to hear; indeed, he hints that some assert that the “divell did reveal it as a secret and divine medicine.” According to Pliny, vervain was gathered by the Druids of Gaul and Britain at the rising of the Dog Star, when neither sun nor moon shone, with the left hand only, and after libations of honey. When thus obtained it was said to vanquish fevers and other distempers, to be an antidote to the bite of serpents, and a charm to conciliate friendship. Paris speaks of it as in his own time the subject of a work on scrofula by a Mr. Morley, which was written for the sole purpose of restoring the much injured character and use of vervain, so that it is evidently a herb which has suffered much from detraction. Mr. Morley directed the root of the plant to be tied, with a yard of white satin ribbon, round the neck where it was to remain until the patient was cured. The modern vendor does not indulge in these refinements.
In submitting the following analyses it should be stated that a mixture or powder, dispensed according to the prescription obtained by the analysis, produced in each case a preparation closely resembling in appearance and taste that sold by the secret medicine vendor; further, the mixtures possessed the same specific gravity as the originals.
OZERINE.
“Ozerine,” prepared by a chemist in Ireland, is described as an unfailing remedy for epilepsy, fits, or falling sickness. The bottle examined had no medicine stamp affixed.
The formula ascertained by analysis is as follows:
Potassium bromide 120 grains. Ammonium carbonate 16 ” Burnt sugar q.s. to colour. Chloroform water to 1 fluid ounce.
Potassium bromide (111 grains) and potassium chloride (9⅓ grains) were found by analysis, but as some potassium bromide containing a large percentage of chloride had recently been in the market the latter was not regarded as an intentional addition.
_Dose._—One teaspoonful before breakfast and dinner, and two at bedtime.
The price charged for a bottle containing 8 fluid ounces was 4s. 6d.; the estimated cost of contents was under 4d.
W. AND J. TAYLOR’S CELEBRATED ANTI-EPILEPTIC MEDICINE.
This preparation, sold in this country through an export agent in London, is said to be “simple, efficacious, harmless, and cheap.” The effrontery of the following paragraph, extracted from a circular which was wrapped round the bottle, is amusing in view of the analytical results:
The principal drug is to be found in nearly every surgery, and yet not one doctor in a hundred would think of using it in Epilepsy, simply because he has no precedent to act upon—he is not directed by any of the great medical writers to prescribe or administer it in this disease; he knows not of its being so used, and he has not tried it himself, and thus he remains unaware of the one grand means of curing Epilepsy, even with the very drugs necessary at his elbow.
The formula ascertained by analysis was:
Tincture of iodine ¾ minim. Potassium bromide 13 grains. Ammonium bromide 4 ” Water to 1 fluid ounce.
The mixture contained the proportion of iodine indicated in the above formula; but as it also contained traces of iodide, it was probable that tincture of iodine was used in its preparation. It may, however, have been prepared from an aqueous solution of iodine and potassium iodide.
_Dose._—One teaspoonful three times a day.
The price of a bottle holding 12 fluid ounces was 2s. 9d.; the estimated cost of the contents is about 1d.
OSBORNE’S MIXTURE FOR EPILEPSY.
This mixture is stated to be prepared in a small town in England.
The following is an extract from a circular accompanying the bottle:
It scarcely ever fails to prevent the fits, loss of consciousness, convulsions, nervous twitchings, &c., of epilepsy, while at the same time it acts as a most valuable tonic; it allays irritation of the nervous system, purifies the blood, strengthens the frame, improves the general health, and helps to check the progress of disease on the intellectual faculties, and may be taken by the most delicate.
The formula ascertained by analysis was:
Potassium bromide 166 grains. Sugar 48 ” (= syrup Ʒj). Burnt sugar q.s. to colour. Peppermint water to 1 fluid ounce.
Traces of fixed ammonia were also present.
_Dose._—One large teaspoonful morning and night.
The price charged for a bottle holding 5 fluid ounces was 2s. 9d.; the estimated cost of the contents is about 3d.
“PROFESSOR” O. PHELPS BROWN’S VERVAIN RESTORATIVE ASSIMILANT.
This preparation is recommended by the vendor—
“for the positive and speedy cure of epilepsy or fits, dyspepsia, indigestion, all derangements of the stomach and bowels, and for every form of debility, no matter from what source it may arise. An unequalled tonic and nervine.”
The formula ascertained by analysis was:
Decoction of Vervain (2 oz. to a pint) 4 fluid drachms. Port wine 1 ” ” Rectified spirit 2 ” ” Water to 1 fluid ounce.
The dose was stated to be one dessertspoonful three times a day before eating.
The mixture contained 25·75 per cent. of absolute alcohol by volume, and reacted towards lead acetate and lead sub-acetate exactly like a specimen prepared according to the above formula. It also contained the same amount of extractive, and had the same specific gravity.
The price is 2s. 9d. for a 6-oz. bottle. The estimated cost of the contents is about 5d.
TRENCH’S REMEDY FOR EPILEPSY AND FITS.
This is, or was, made by a company giving an address in Ireland. The package examined had no medicine stamp affixed.
_Liquid Preparation._—The following formula refers to the liquid preparation supplied for use in the United Kingdom.
The formula ascertained by analysis was:
Potassium bromide 70 grains. Ammonium bromide 10 ” Sugar 72 ” (= syrup Ʒjss). Fuchsia q.s. to colour. Water to 1 fluid ounce.
The dose was stated to be one teaspoonful in the morning and two at night; the price for a 3-oz. bottle is 3s.; the estimated cost of the contents was about 1d.
“_Concentrated Form._”—This was supplied for export to the colonies, was a moist coarse brown crystalline powder in hermetically-sealed tins, with directions enclosed for dissolving in water. A quarter package (the smallest supplied) contained 11¼ ounces, and was directed to be dissolved in one pint of warm water. The resulting mixture was found to measure 25 fluid ounces. From the formula given below it will be seen that the mixture thus prepared differed from the one issued for home consumption in two important particulars: (_a_) ammonium bromide was absent, (_b_) the dose of potassium bromide was considerably larger than that of the total bromides in the latter. Is this a form of colonial preference? or is it that our brothers beyond the sea are more robust and hence proof against the depressing influence of potassium salts? The formula of the powder ascertained by analysis was:
Potassium bromide 61 parts. Moist brown sugar 39 ”
The calculated composition of the finished mixture was:
Potassium bromide 120 grains. Moist brown sugar 77 ” Water to 1 fluid ounce.
The dose of the mixture directed to be taken was one teaspoonful in the morning and two at night.
The price charged for a quarter package was 15s., but the estimated cost of the contents is about 8d.
Such then are these secret remedies for epilepsy; with one exception they are weak preparations of well-known drugs supplied at considerably more than the usual cost, and administered without that careful adjustment of dose to the needs of the particular patient which is, after all, the most essential part in the treatment of epilepsy by bromide salts. The exception contains an old-fashioned herb once praised by the superstitious but abandoned time and again even by them; it has never been shown to possess any definite therapeutic properties and was long ago discarded by the medical profession because it was found useless.
SOME GERMAN NOSTRUMS.
Of five nostrums sold for the cure of epilepsy in Germany, examined by Dr. Zernik, three were found to contain bromide salts as chief constituents: _Lamma powder_ consisted of equal parts of bromide of sodium and bromide of ammonium; _Antiépileptique_ (Uten) was a solution of potassium bromide (16 per cent.), coloured green, and containing 1 per cent. of an indifferent bitter tincture, while _Berendorf’s powder for epilepsy_ contained potassium bromide 53·3 per cent., borax 40·3 per cent., and zinc oxide 4 per cent., the remainder being water. Borax is a remedy occasionally used to correct some undesired effect of bromides and has sometimes been prescribed for patients who could not tolerate the bromides. Zinc oxide has, or at one time had, a certain reputation as a nerve sedative. Of the two German remedies which did not contain bromide one consisted largely of formaldehyde which is used as an antiseptic and preservative for food, and the other consisted of pills containing nothing beyond inactive powdered leaves and roots.