BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY. 443 



relief of syphilitic troubles erroneously believed to be of a cancerous 

 nature. The Post-Office Department has issued fraud orders in 

 nearly a dozen of these cases, and as a result the mail-order '' cancer- 

 cure " business has, to a very large extent, been suppressed in this 

 country. Other treatments investiirated included epilepsy and hernia 

 " cures," lost-manhood restorers, " cures " for women's ills, etc. There 

 are several other cancer '' cure " treatments of lesser importance 

 under investigation, besides tuberculosis and epilepsy " cures," eye- 

 sight and vitality restorers, and similar remedies, all plainly of a 

 fraudulent character. 



Most of the " epilepsy cures " are prescribed and sold through the 

 mails though a few of them are sold in the open market. They rank 

 second only to the cancer cures in the misleading and deceptive char- 

 acter of the claims made for them. Most of them are represented to 

 cure epilepsy, irrespective of kind or cause, completely and perma- 

 nently, and the claims to this effect generally appear in the corre- 

 spondence and printed matter sent to the prospective purchaser 

 through the mail ; only a few, if any, appear on the label. The rep- 

 resentations commonly made are to the effect that as a result of the 

 use of the treatment the epileptic seizures are lessened in frequency 

 and severity, any diseased condition of the brain is corrected, and 

 brain tissue which has been damaged or destroyed is replaced; this 

 change goes on steadily until the whole nervous system is restored 

 to a sound and normal condition, and, the cause being removed, the 

 convulsive seizures no longer make their appearance and the epilepsy 

 is cured, never to return. Such claims are false and misleading in 

 the highest degree. The medical profession knows of no substance or 

 mixture of substances Avhich is capable of creating new brain or nerve 

 tissue in place of the old which has been removed or destroyed. Most 

 of the epilepsy cures depend for their efficacy upon the presence of 

 one or more of the bromids. While thase agents appear in some 

 instances to exert a palliative effect upon the epileptic seizures, their 

 effect is temporary only, and according to the best authorities they 

 can not in any sense be considered cures for the disease. 



" Consumption cures " are also sold through the mails as well as 

 in the shops. Analysis in the Division of Drugs has shown that they 

 usually contain ordinary medicinal agents, some of which are occa- 

 sionally usefid in combating the distressing symptoms of the disease; 

 but so far as has yet been learned, their effect is temporary only, and 

 they can not in any sense be regarded as "cures" for tuberculosis. 

 Some of these remedies are represented to be cures and absolute cures 

 for all forms of tuberculosis. Symptom blanks are employed in con- 

 nection with these treatments as well as in connection with those can- 

 cer and epilepsy cures which are prescribed or sold through the mails, 

 but this method of making a diagnosis in the absence of the patient 

 is in such cases virtually worthless. Millions of dollars are spent 

 annually to retard the progress of consumption, but it is well known 

 that there is at the present time no specific for its treatment. Any- 

 one engaged in exploiting a so-called consumption cure is simply 

 trafficking in the life and health of the people, since the time lost in 

 such a way may result in the death of the victims by delaying the use 

 of the proper hygienic measures. 



