INHERITANCE OF MENTAL DEFECTS AND DISEASE 63 



One of the highest percentages of positive reactions was found 

 by Fraser and Watson. These workers not only applied the test 

 in a thorough manner, but they studied the family history of 

 the patients, and applied the Wassermann test also to other 

 members of the family. Dr. Fraser examined the blood sera of 99 

 mentally defective and epileptic children. Excluding 10 cases of 

 epilepsy where no apparent mental defect existed, and "consider- 

 ing only the 89 cases where defect was present, it was found that 

 40 gave a positive reaction, or 44.9 per cent. ; 38 gave a negative 

 reaction, or 42.4 per cent.; and n gave a doubtful reaction, or 

 12.3 per cent." 



In several cases in which the child gave a negative or doubt- 

 ful reaction it was found that a positive Wassermann could be 

 obtained from some other member of the same family, thus 

 affording evidence that syphilitic infection was or had been 

 present in the child examined. Considering all the evidence in 

 hand it is probable that the percentage of syphilitic infection 

 was over 57 per cent. 



An examination by Dr. Watson of the blood serum of 105 cases 

 of mental deficiency, mainly feeble-mindedness, of varying ages 

 up to 17 years showed that 51 gave a positive reaction, 45 gave a 

 negative reaction, and 9 were doubtful. As several of the negative 

 or doubtful cases had relatives that gave a positive reaction, it 

 is probable that the percentage of syphilis in Dr. Watson's group 

 of defectives was over 50 per cent. "On grouping the defective 

 and epileptic children together, it is found that of the 205 cases 

 examined syphilitic infection is present in 126 or 60 per cent." 



Should syphilis be found to play so large a part in the pro- 

 using the Noguchi system in the examination of 204 idiots found 14.7 per cent 

 that gave a positive reaction. Raviart, Breton and Petit in examining various 

 cases of mental defect aside from parasyphilitic cases obtained positive reactions in 

 30 to 40 per cent of all cases of idiocy, epilepsy and imbecility. A high proportion 

 of positive cases was found in various forms of insanity by Rosanoff, Wiseman and 

 Noguchi. (See Noguchi, Serum Diagnosis and Luetin Reaction, Philadelphia, 1912.) 

 Kaplan (Serology of Nervous Diseases, 1914), found a positive Wassermann in 4 

 out of 38 epileptics and a negative reaction in most cases of dementia praecox and 

 manic-depressive insanity, and he emphasizes the danger of reporting too many 

 cases of a positive reaction. 



