CHAPTER VI.

REMEDIES FOR GOUT, RHEUMATISM, AND NEURALGIA.

The medicines here described vary considerably in their nature, and to some extent in the complaints for which they are recommended, but no definite line can be drawn between them. Some are primarily for gout, but are recommended also for rheumatism; others are mainly for rheumatism, but are also recommended for gout and neuralgia; while others, again, are chiefly advertised for neuralgia and headache.

BLAIR’S GOUT AND RHEUMATIC PILLS.

These pills, which are a British product, are sold in boxes, price 1s. 1½d., and containing 14 pills.

They were described in a circular accompanying the box as:

The great and universal remedy for the immediate relief and cure of Acute and Chronic Gout, Rheumatism, Suppressed Gout, Rheumatic Gout, Gouty Skin Diseases, Bronchitis and Asthma, Sciatica, Lumbago, and Neuralgia, and as a preventive or prophylactic where the disease has a tendency to recur, or attacking any vital part, as the Stomach, Brain, or Heart.

Other extracts from this circular are:

In all cases of Gout, no matter of what length of standing, they not only give relief from the almost intolerable pain, but where the patient has kept his bed for months, _One Box will frequently carry off the attack_ in two or three days—in many cases of extreme torture relief has been obtained in two or three hours ... in those gouty skin affections, Psoriasis and Eczema, these Pills have no equal.

Blair’s Gout and Rheumatic Pills are not only efficacious in curing Gout, but in all those diseases allied to it.

They never fail. They always cure.

Directions and Doses.

For Gout and Rheumatic Gout.—Take two Pills three times a day, just after meals, and when it is very severe, take two during the night, and they should be persisted in until the swelling and stiffness have disappeared.

In cases of long standing, where the tendency of the disease is to recur, it is advisable to take a short course of the Pills as a preventive. Dose.—Two twice a day for a fortnight.

For Suppressed Gout, including Gouty Asthma, Bronchitis, Dyspepsia Rheumatism, Rheumatic Headaches, Lumbago, Sciatica, Tic Doloreux, Pains in the Head, Face, etc., they must also be taken, two Pills three times a day, just after meals, that quantity being generally sufficient, but in some cases a longer continuance of them is necessary, particularly in Rheumatism of long standing, but that will also be eradicated by perseverance in the use of these Pills. _They should be taken from time to time also as a preventive._

Spring and Autumn. In these treacherous Gout and Rheumatic Seasons, to prevent a recurrence, sufferers are earnestly advised to take a short alterative course of this famous medicine.

It is requested, in case this medicine should considerably open the bowels, that it may be laid aside until that effect has ceased, when it may be resumed, beginning with a smaller dose. Patients are also informed that it is unnecessary for any aperient medicine to be taken during its use, unless they have been costive for some days.

The pills had an average weight of 2·9 grains. Analysis showed them to contain powdered colchicum corm, exsiccated alum, and an excipient. The quantities found indicated the following formula:

Powdered colchicum corm 2·1 grains. Burnt alum 0·35 grain.

in one pill.

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 14 pills is one-seventh of a penny.

HAMM’S RHEUMATIC, GOUT, AND SCIATICA CURE.

The Originator and Proprietor of this cure, who hails from the north of England, charges 2s. 9d. for a bottle containing 8 fluid ounces. It was described on the outside package as “The Greatest Remedy in the World. It has no equal for the cure of Rheumatism, Gout, and Sciatica.” In a circular enclosed with the bottle it was stated that:

It never fails to Cure those distressing and torturing Complaints, and in most cases has given relief from the excruciating pains by taking a few doses. This Standard Remedy has time and again succeeded after all other internal remedies have failed. Purify the Blood by driving the Uric Acid from the system and you will remove the cause of all Rheumatism, etc. Hamm’s Famous Rheumatism Cure has Never Failed to do it.

The dose was given on the label as “One Tablespoonful three times a day, after meals.”

The preparation was a brown, slightly turbid liquid. Analysis showed it to contain potassium iodide, sodium salicylate, a little vegetable extractive, and a trace of alcohol. The extractive was moderately bitter, but possessed no characters indicating the drug from which it was derived; it contained no alkaloid. Quantitative determination of the ingredients showed the formula to be:

Potassium iodide 15 grains. Sodium salicylate 66 ” Extractive 28 ” Alcohol Trace. Water to 8 fluid ounces.

Assuming the extractive to be of the same price as extract of gentian, the estimated cost of the ingredients of 8 fluid ounces is ½d.

GLORIA TREATMENT FOR RHEUMATISM.

This “treatment” is advertised as follows:

Cure yourself of Rheumatism. I will tell you how and send you the remedy Free. My combination treatment cures, not merely relieves but actually cures, cases of Rheumatism, Gout, and Sciatica.... The numerous so-called remedies offered to the public, through the medium of the newspapers, have absolutely killed all confidence; therefore, in order to make my genuine remedy more generally known, I have decided to give away a large quantity so that everybody can test for themselves the truth of my statements. My combination treatment consists of: 1. Gloria Balm, which Instantly Relieves Pain. 2. Gloria Pills which Purify the Blood and Invigorate the Whole System. 3. Gloria Tonic Tablets which Effect a Complete and Permanent Cure.... I earnestly ask every Rheumatic Sufferer to obtain a free supply of this medicine at once. Simply send a postcard request, and a supply will reach you in less than 24 hours.

Application to the address given brought sample boxes of the pills and tablets only, accompanied by a booklet entitled “Rheumatism and Gout, Causes and Cure,” and a letter of the usual type, as indicated by the following extracts:

I was very pleased to receive your communication this morning, as having suffered from the terrible disease with which you are afflicted myself it naturally affords me a great deal of gratification to be able to place in the hands of every sufferer a genuine remedy for it—a remedy which cured me and has cured many thousands of others besides....

It is, as I have often heard it described by persons bubbling over with gratitude for their relief from the above distressing ailments, Nature’s very own cure for Rheumatism and Gout. The danger of allowing the poisonous acids which cause these diseases to continue their work day by day in the body cannot be exaggerated....

Before closing this letter I once more beg to impress upon you the danger of delay in commencing the treatment, especially as applied to your particular case.

Since “Gloria Balsam” was apparently not thought sufficiently important for a sample to be sent, supplies were obtained of the tablets and pills only for examination.

_Gloria Tonic_, price 4s. 6d. a box, containing 50 tablets, was described on the box as “a scientific preparation for the cure of all uric acid ailments, including Rheumatism and Gout, Lumbago, Sciatica, Scrofula, and all other diseases resulting from Impurities of the Blood.” This rather wide claim was somewhat at variance with statements made in the booklet, from which a few extracts may be given:

It was with the object of curing all rheumatism that I introduced “Gloria Tonic” to the public, and I believe that it is a task worthy of the cause. I do not propose to make the attempt with a remedy similar to the many thousands of cure-alls with which the market is overloaded, but with a true and reliable rheumatism specific—“Gloria Tonic.”

I am not offering you a remedy of that kind, but one which is solely compounded for the cure of rheumatism, one that has been tested in Hospitals and Sanatoriums, one that has the endorsement of physicians and University professors, and, above all, one which has already enabled many hundreds of persons to abandon crutch and cane. Do not wonder if this can be true. The foregoing statement is an absolute fact....

I could easily get many times 4s. 6d. for a box of “Gloria Tonic,” but it is my purpose not so much to accumulate wealth as to benefit suffering mankind....

“Gloria Tonic” is to-day the only remedy on the market that cures all forms of rheumatism effectively, and without destroying the delicate tissues of the Heart, Stomach, Liver, and Kidneys....

The merit of this remedy is unapproachable. I have no object in telling you this aside from having your interests at heart, and wish to protect you against the many harmful drugs. You need not have any fear in taking “Gloria Tonic” as directed, while the smallest dose of other rheumatic remedies might harm you.

The directions were:

For adults: From one-half to one tablet is a dose, and four doses should be taken daily as follows: Half to one tablet before the morning, noon, and evening meal, and on retiring.... Dose for children from 10 to 15 years, one half-tablet. From 5 to 10 years, one-quarter of a tablet. Below these years, the medicine should not be given.

The average weight of the tablets was 11·2 grains; among 12 weighed separately the weights varied from 10·5 to 12·5 grains. Analysis showed the presence of potassium iodide, guaiacum resin, extract of liquorice, powdered liquorice, starch, mineral matter—apparently a mixture of talc and kaolin—a resinoid substance, and a trace of alkaloid. The alkaloid amounted to 0·016 per cent.; it did not agree in properties with any of the common alkaloids, but agreed, so far as it was practicable to examine it, with the alkaloid of phytolacca (the American weed, poke-root, or pokeberry); the resinoid also agreed in its properties with the resinoid phytolaccin, but there are no distinctive tests by which its identity could be certainly established. The quantities of the various ingredients were estimated as accurately as possible, and the following formula was indicated:

Potassium iodide 1·8 grains. Guaiacum resin 0·8 grain. Extract of liquorice 1·0 ” Resinoid (phytolaccin?) 0·9 ” Powdered liquorice 1·7 grains. Rice starch 2·0 ” Talc and kaolin 2·1 ” In one tablet.

In the formula the most expensive ingredient is the phytolaccin, which is also the least certain, both as to identity and quantity. Taking the formula here given, the estimated cost of the ingredients for 50 tablets is 8d.

_Gloria Pills_, price 1s. 1½d. per box, containing 40 pills, in addition to being supplied as part of the “treatment” for rheumatism, were recommended as a general laxative. It was stated in the circular enclosed with them that “Gloria Laxative Pills will cure Constipation, Torpid Liver, Piles, Headache, Dizziness, Sour Eructation, Heartburn, Bloating, Flatulence, Nausea, Sleeplessness, Mental Depression, Palpitation of the Heart, Nervousness, Kidney Trouble, and all other conditions resulting from Dyspepsia and Indigestion.”

The pills were coated with talc, coloured to a chocolate colour with oxide of iron. After removal of the coating, the average weight was 1·1 grains. Analysis showed the constituents to be chiefly extracts and resins. The two samples of pills examined—namely, the gratis sample of eight pills first supplied, and the full box afterwards obtained—differed materially in composition; the former contained about 25 per cent. of powdered liquorice, 6 or 8 per cent. of powdered rhubarb, and 6 or 8 per cent. of wheat flour, while the latter contained neither liquorice nor rhubarb, and proportionately more of the soluble constituents, which appeared to consist in both cases of extracts of aloes and cascara sagrada with jalap resin. The various constituents were estimated quantitatively, but in such a mixture exact results are of course unattainable, and even the qualitative results must be given with a certain reservation. The formula indicated for the pills in the 1s. 1½d. box was:

Extract of cascara sagrada 0·3 grain. ” Socotrine aloes 0·5 ” Jalap resin 0·07 ” Flour } q.s. Excipient }

in one pill.

Estimated cost of ingredients for 40 pills, ½d.

BARING GOULD’S ANTI-RHEUMATIC PEARLS.

This article is introduced to the public by an advertisement headed:

“Rheumatism speedily cured.” The advertisement states that Mr. Baring Gould, of an address at a provincial watering place, “very strongly recommends Marvellous Cheap Remedy for Chronic Rheumatism, Gout, etc. Free Information for addressed envelope.”

Application for information with regard to the remedy brought a box of the “Pearls” with an intimation that the price was 5s., or 3s. 9d. for prompt cash. In the enclosed circulars the proprietor was described as “W. Baring Gould, Rheumatic Specialist and Scientist in Chemistry,” and the “Pearls” were referred to in the following terms:

Baring Gould’s Anti-Rheumatic “Pearls” (Patent and Trade Mark Registered). The Most Wonderful and Most Effectual “Anti-Rheumatic” Ever Known....

Mr. Baring Gould desires to say that from a recent careful examination of his records, he finds that he relieves or cures (mostly by his wonderful “Pearls”) at least eighty people in every hundred who come under his care.

There is nothing to approach the “Pearls” in Curative value for all kinds of Rheumatism, Sciatica, and Gout. They are entirely free from every kind of injurious substance, and may be taken with absolute safety and benefit by the most delicate bedridden sufferers.

DOSE.—Take 2 Pearls twice a day. Being flexible and tasteless they are easily swallowed, or the gelatine casing may be removed and the contents placed in half a wineglass of water (hot or cold) and taken in that way. The flavour of the medicaments is agreeable to the palate and to the stomach also.

The “Pearls” consisted of gelatine capsules, of the flattened form known commercially as “perles,” containing a white powder. The average weight of the contents was 5·9 grains, the contents of single capsules varying from 5·0 to 6·5 grains. It should be said that aspirin, a drug in very common use for rheumatism, is acetyl-salicylic acid. Analysis showed the powder to consist of:

Acetyl-salicylic acid 85 per cent. Sugar of milk 15 ”

The estimated cost of ingredients for 40 capsules is 1½d.

GOWER’S GREEN PILLS.

These pills, which cost 1s. 1½d. per box, containing 44 pills, were described in the advertisement as:

A real remedy for rheumatism, backache, muscular rheumatism, sciatica, gout, lumbago, cramps, stiffness of joints, kidney disorders, dropsical swellings, etc. These Pills act directly on the organic and muscular parts of the body, and bring instant relief to tired, aching, and painful muscles and joints.

In the circular enclosed with the pills it was stated that:

The ingredients ... are known only to the proprietors. They are not to be found either in the _British Pharmacopœia_ or in any surgery in the land. It was not your doctor’s fault that he did not cure you, it was his misfortune—he did not know how. He had not these remedies in his possession. We offer you the opportunity of using them and recovering your health.

Gower’s Green Pills, though an eminently scientific pill, do not act like magic. The days of miracles have gone by. They act surely, but sometimes slowly in cases of Rheumatism of long standing.

In taking these pills we would like it to be thoroughly known that if your disease is one of long standing you cannot be completely cured with one or two boxes. A rheumatic sufferer who has tried most remedies and has been tortured with pain for five years cannot expect to be a new man in five weeks. If it takes as many as a dozen 2s. 9d. boxes to cure a case like this, the sufferer cannot but consider it the best investment that he ever made in his life.

The directions were:

One dose to be taken three times a day, before or after meals. Three Pills are one dose.

The pills were coated with talc, with a small quantity of a green colouring matter. After removal of the coating the pills had an average weight of 1·2 grains. Analysis showed them to contain soap (about 36 per cent.), an alkaline salicylate (about 37 per cent.), extractive, and vegetable tissue. No alkaloid was present; the extractive was dark in colour, without bitterness or other characteristic taste, and showed no properties by which its source could be identified; microscopic examination of the tissue showed the presence of two powders, one of which agreed well in its characters with powdered cimicifuga root, while the other bore much resemblance to jalap, but not enough to warrant the statement that it was jalap. The total amount of vegetable powder was about 20 per cent., of which about one-third appeared to be cimicifuga; 11 per cent. of silicious ash was also present.

DR. COLLIE’S OINTMENT.

This ointment, supplied by a Scottish Company at the price of 1s. 9d. for a box containing 1¾ ounces, is advertised in the following terms:

Try Dr. Collie for Rheumatism. His ointment positively cures while you sleep. You don’t rub it in, but apply just like a poultice. It draws out the cause of your trouble, and a speedy cure ensues. Try Dr. Collie’s Ointment—Instant relief for Sciatica, Lumbago, and swollen joints.

It appeared, however, from a booklet sent with the ointment that rheumatism was only one among a large number of complaints for which the ointment was recommended; it was described on the label as:

A certain cure for Sprains, Bruises, Cuts, Burns, Chapped Hands, Eczema, Blood Poisoning, Whitlows, Sea Water Boils, Abscesses, Piles, Rheumatism, Sciatica, Lumbago, Pains in the Back and Loins, and all Sores and Ulcers of every description.

The directions for its use in rheumatism were:

First wash the part to be treated with warm water and soda, then thoroughly dry—(a quantity of the ointment may then be well rubbed in). Now get a piece of thick cotton cloth (old sheeting answers very well) or better still, chamois leather, spread the ointment thickly and apply like a poultice. When the dressing begins to get dry, take it off, and after scraping the cloth replace it with fresh ointment. The part may, after a dressing or two, begin to itch, and the skin, being stimulated, may come out in a humour. If so, do not be alarmed but persevere. This is a sure sign that the Ointment is doing its work, drawing out the deleterious matter, viz., Uric Acid Poison, from the body through the most natural of all channels, the pores of the skin.

Analysis showed the presence of colophony resin, petroleum jelly, a little beeswax, and a fatty base. The colophony was accompanied by a small proportion of another substance of resinous nature, which appeared to be the altered resin to be found in the variety of colophony known commercially as “black resin”; a dark substance was also present which appeared to consist of the natural impurities of crude petroleum; the fatty basis showed generally the properties of a mixture of lard and tallow. A similar ointment was obtained by using the following formula:

Black resin 12 per cent. Beeswax 2 ” Crude petroleum jelly 26 ” Tallow 20 ” Lard 40 ”

Estimated cost of ingredients for 1¾ ounces, 1d.

ZOX.

Zox is a powder made by a Company with an address in London and the price charged is 1s. for a box containing eight powders. It was described on the wrapper as:

The most marvellous pain reliever. Instantly cures Toothache, Neuralgia, Headache, Sciatica, and all Nerve Pains. Pure, Harmless, not Aperient.

In a circular enclosed with the box directions were given for taking the powders for neuralgia, toothache, headache, sciatica, rheumatic and gouty pains, and influenza. For neuralgia the directions were:

Ono Powder should be taken when in pain, and should the enemy return, continue the Powders every four hours, for a few days. If very weak from continual pain, take a few doses of Zox Tonic; this will give you speedy relief.

For rheumatic and gout pains:

Take one Zox Powder two or three times a day while pain is acute; avoid beer and spirits of all kinds.

The average weight of the powders was 4½ grains, single powders in a box varying in weight from 4 to 6 grains. Analysis showed the powder to consist of acetanilide only.

The estimated cost of the drug for eight powders is one-tenth of a penny.

OQUIT.

The vendors, a Company with a London address, sell tubes of 20 tablets for 1s. 1½d.

This is advertised as follows:

Neuralgia. Within 10 minutes of taking “Oquit” that frightful nerve-racking pain will be cured. One dose will convince you. Try it.

A pamphlet was enclosed with the package, headed “Oquit for Headaches and Nerve Pains, Headache, Neuralgia, Gout, Sciatica, Rheumatism, Lumbago, Influenza, Feverish Colds, Sea Sickness.” A few extracts are here given:

Oquit ... is made in strict accordance with a medical prescription from drugs which are daily prescribed by the most eminent physicians for the relief of nerve pains. There is nothing experimental about “Oquit.” The drugs of which “Oquit” is composed are perfectly well known, and their claim to be regarded as unrivalled for the purpose has been rigidly tested and endorsed by the leading exponents of modern medicine. What is really unique about “Oquit” is the scientific proportion in which the constituent drugs are combined. It is a remarkable fact, and one which is attested by every medical man, that the action of a drug may be made effective or ineffective according to the manner in which it is prescribed. There are certain subordinate drugs which prepare the way, as it were, for the action of a principal drug, and the proportion between the ingredients of a prescription is of vital importance in relation to the effect produced. It is to this scientifically adjusted proportion that the remarkably beneficial results of “Oquit” are due....

In the cure of Neuralgia, “Oquit” has proved eminently successful when taken in the same way as recommended for headache, with the addition that a third and further doses should be repeated, if found necessary, at intervals of three hours....

In Rheumatism, whether the acute or chronic forms, “Oquit” is extremely beneficial, expelling from the system the inflammatory agents which give rise to the frequently excruciating pains in the joints and muscles involved, and confers a most welcome relief....

In Gout, Sciatica, and Lumbago the eliminating power of “Oquit” is of the greatest possible value. In all these cases, adults should take three “Oquits” every three hours at the commencement of an attack, reducing the dose to two, and then to one, as the pain decreases.

The average weight of the tablet was 5·1 grains. Analysis showed them to contain:

Acetyl-salicylic acid 66·2 per cent. Starch, chiefly maize 20·0 ” Talc 4·2 ” Gum 1·5 ” Extractive 3·1 ” Moisture 5·0 ” Alkaloid a trace.

As stated above aspirin is acetyl-salicylic acid, and so it may be added is xaxa.

The alkaloid did not show well-marked characters by which it could be identified, but agreed fairly well in its reactions with the total alkaloid of gelsemium; the general nature of the extractive was consistent with its being a preparation of this drug.

The estimated cost of ingredients for 20 tablets is ¾d.

GENOFORM TABLETS.

A substance was described under the name Genoform in the _Pharmaceutische Post_ in 1905, as being the methylene-glycol ester of salicylic acid; but as the present preparation is advertised to the public, and supplied under a patent medicine stamp, it must be regarded as a secret remedy. The proprietor, it is stated, resides in Leipzig but there is a London agency, and the remedy is sold in tubes price 1s. 1½d., containing 10 tablets.

An advertisement of this preparation was headed: “Gout, Rheumatism, Sciatica, and Neuralgia Cured. A Miracle in Rheumatism.” Then followed a testimonial describing the “miracle.” On the package of the tablets it was stated that:

Genoform cures gout, rheumatism, sciatica, neuralgia, etc. Genoform gives instant relief and effects a permanent cure.

A circular enclosed in the package stated:

Genoform is a certain cure, and you need not suffer another day. No matter where the pain is, or how severe it is, or how long you have had it, Genoform Tablets will rid you of it. They give relief in many cases immediately, and produce a permanent cure.

Take them to-day and feel well. Genoform eases pain with a rapidity which is remarkable, at the same time doing away with the cause. Remember that.

It is no mere relief. It stamps out the cause of Gout, Rheumatism, Sciatica, and Neuralgia. It is absolutely harmless. No remedy equals it in its quick and certain effects.

Patients afflicted for years and unable to walk or use their limbs have been made sound and free from pain in a very little time....

Absolutely crippled rheumatic persons, unable to dress or undress themselves, have entirely recovered with only a few doses of this preparation.

The directions were as follows:

The Tablets must never be taken on an empty stomach, but either during or after meals (from 3 to 9 tablets daily). Taking the Tablet is facilitated by letting it soak first in a spoonful of water and drinking a little water afterwards. Any oppression of the stomach is soon relieved by 5 or 6 drops of dilute Hydrochloric acid taken in half a glassful of water.

As Genoform contains Salicylic Acid and that well-known drug for Rheumatism sometimes causes a little buzzing in the ears, if such buzzing ever occurs it is well to discontinue Genoform for 24 hours and afterwards take only a small dose for a day or so. It must be clearly understood that there is no possible harm or danger in such buzzing and few persons are so affected, but we think it wise to advise you lest you should think Genoform does not agree with you and discontinue its use.

The tablets had an average weight of 7·7 grains. They contained no free salicylic acid, but on hydrolysis with alkali they yielded 91·0 per cent. of that substance. Starch was present to the extent of 4·1 per cent., so that the material other than starch yielded 94·9 per cent. of its weight of salicylic acid. Salicyl-methylene-glycol ester CH₂(C₇H₅O₃)₂ would yield 95·6 per cent.; investigation of the other products of hydrolysis showed that this ester was the substance present; no other ingredient was found. On examination the substance proved to be hydrolyzed at once by alkali in the cold, but not by cold dilute acid; hot water caused slight decomposition, and on boiling it in water it readily yielded salicylic acid. The formula of the tablets is thus:

Salicyl-methylene-glycol ester 95 per cent. Starch (and moisture) 5 ”

POST’S C. B. Q. TABLETS FOR RHEUMATISM.

Two specimens of the proprietary article sold under the name of C. B. Q. have been examined at an interval of nine years. The earlier analysis showed that the tablets contained potassium iodide, quinine and colchicine in small quantities, a salicylate and extract of liquorice, used no doubt to bind the powder together. The analysis made in 1908 showed that of the tablets then examined each contained about 1½ grains of potassium iodide, a small quantity of salicylate, a vegetable extract, and magnesia. The extract was hygroscopic and the magnesia was no doubt employed to bring the mixture into a form suitable for tablet making. The extract was slightly bitter and the tablets contained a small amount of alkaloid, which was not certainly identified.

GOUT VARALETTES.

Analysis of Bishop’s Gout Varalettes showed the presence of lithium citrate and a small quantity of what appeared to be piperazine, together with the usual effervescing basis consisting of sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid.

PISTOIA GOUT POWDERS.

There was a powder for gout known to an earlier generation under the name of the “Portland Gout Powder;” according to the prescription given by Jourdan in the _Pharmacopée Universelle_ (1828); it consisted of: Gentian root, round birthwort root (_Aristolochia rotunda_), ground pine root (_Teucrium chamaepitys_), the tops of germander (_Teucrium chamaedrys_), and of the lesser centaury (_Erithroea centaurium_), of each equal parts to be ground separately to a fine powder and mixed; dose, half a teaspoonful. He gives of this three variants, in one of which the gentian is replaced by guaiacum.

For some years past a good deal has been heard about the Pistoia gout powders. A pamphlet entitled _The antigouty powders of the R.R. Benedictine Mothers of Pistoia for the treatment of a gouty source_ (Rome, 1904) presents a curious resemblance to the advertising pamphlets issued by ordinary nostrum dealers. There is a short disquisition on gout written in very odd English, this is followed by a translation of a large number of testimonials to the virtues of the powder, and this again by the following “Warning to our Customers”:

Having known that in some towns of Italy, and even in Pistoia, some antigouty drug circulates under the name of “Vegetal Antigouty Powders of the Cloister” or under other names alike, making every body trust that they come from our Monastery, we think ourselves, in duty bound, to remember to our Customers that no deposit of our Antigouty Powders is to be found neither in Pistoia nor in other towns or places in Italy or abroad, and that we have accorded to nobody the faculty of preparing or selling them.

Consequently every antigouty remedy which in any way should be made known as coming from this Monastery, must be considered as a product of vulgar falsification and adulteration.

The label on some boxes of the powder states that it is based on gentian, and on Indian wood, which is one of the synonyms of guaiacum. The pamphlet, which has already been quoted, states that the powders do not contain colchicum, belladonna, or any other poisonous substance, but

are a composition of medicinal grasses, none of which can ever have a pernicious effect upon the health, whatever may be the state of the person who uses it.

It is asserted that “often many miraculous cures are obtained,” but it appears that the treatment must be a prolonged one, for the pamphlet further states that:

When it is question of a first affection or of a light gouty attack, the treatment of a whole year without interruption can in general be sufficient; because it is necessary for the blood to stay under the action essentially depurative of the drug during four seasons.

But when the illness is old, a year of treatment cannot of course be enough to extirpate entirely the distemper, and the use of the drug must be protracted till necessary.

The sample of Pistoia gout powder examined was of a greenish ginger colour and had a bitter taste. MM. Guignard, Collin, Chastaing, and Barillot give the following formula for the Pistoia gout powder:

Colchicum corm 10 parts Bryony root 10 ” Betony (root, stem, and leaves) 50 ” Gentian root 10 ” Camomile (chiefly stem, leaves, a little root, and flowers) 10 ”

M. Collin is one of the leading authorities on the microscopic characters of powdered vegetable drugs, and a microscopical examination of the specimen revealed characters consistent with this formula; such small differences as were observed were only such as might be expected between specimens grown under different conditions of soil, climate, etc.

Another formula which has been published for the powders is as follows, but the sample examined agreed more nearly with No. 1:

II.

Colchicum corm 20 parts. Bryony root 10 ” Betony root 40 ” Gentian root 10 ” Camomile 10 ”

LAVILLE’S ANTIGOUT REMEDIES.

According to Zernik, the chief constituents of the Liqueur du Dr. Laville, an antigout remedy, very popular in France, in spite of its high price and secret composition, are colchicin (about 0·08 per cent.) and quinine in alcoholic solution. The pilules du Dr. Laville are sold as preventive remedies against gout. They were found to contain extract of winter cherry, Physalis alkekengi, one of the Solanaceae (? capsicum), guaiacum resin, powdered leaves and root of the marsh mallow, and sodium silicate. Each bottle contains 75 grams, about 2½ fluid ounces, and costs 8s.

SOME GERMAN NOSTRUMS.

The following notes upon a few German remedies are quoted from Dr. Zernik’s reports in the _Deutsche Medicinische Wochenschrift_.

URICEDIN.

This is a Berlin product vaunted as a remedy for the gouty diathesis, but its composition is very simple; it contains 2½ per cent. sodium chlorate, and 66·5 per cent. dry sodium sulphate, the remainder being sodium citrate and sodium tartrate.

RHEUMACID.

The prospectus asserts that this material, the result of years of careful and earnest study, revolutionizes all medical knowledge, and cures rheumatism, colds, neuralgia, sciatica, gout, bladder, kidney, and skin affections, etc. The price demanded for 50 grams (about 1½ ounces) is 17s. 6d., while a sample costs 1s. The sample is supposed to contain ten doses of 1 gram each, but was actually found to contain only half that quantity. There appeared to be three sorts of rheumacid, marked A, B, and C respectively, but the analysis revealed that the constituents were practically the same and included aspirin, salol, and at times salpyrin, with a little citric acid. This seems rather like making a revolution with rosewater.

ANTIGOUT SOAP.

Lazarus Gout and Rheumatic Soap is prepared in Dresden. It is a piece of medium-quality sodium soap, containing a very small quantity of an ethereal oil. The cake weighs 70 grams (about 2 oz.), and costs 1 mark.

PINE PREPARATIONS.

Electricum, described as “aethereal Tyrolese fir and pine wood oil,” and recommended by the vendors as an external remedy for rheumatism, gout, pains in the limbs, paralysis, sciatica, lumbago, and backache, neuralgia, tumours, etc., seems to consist merely of pine oil.

Weigand’s Rheumatic and Gout Spirit which it is stated relieves the pain within a few hours and cures after a short time, consists of 55 parts of turpentine oil, 55 parts of spirits of camphor, and 5 grams of Venice soap. A bottle containing 115 grams, less than 4 ounces, costs 2s. 6d.

RHEUMA TABAKOLIN.

This is a Berlin preparation; a box containing about 100 grams (about 3½ oz.) costs 5s., but the quantity for neglected and obstinate cases cost 15s. It is asserted to be a newly discovered remedy for rheumatism and gout obtained from tobacco. The directions are to extract the material with about 24 ounces of 50 per cent. alcohol, and to use this extract as a liquid application to the painful areas. Analysis showed that the substance consisted of waste and powdered tobacco perfumed with lemon oil. In Germany waste broken tobacco can be bought at about 5d. or 6d. a pound.