388 



MEDICAL SECTION 



a case came under my care where diseased or dead 

 children were born and the mother, coming- under 

 the care of a doctor, was treated for syphilis for some 

 years, giving birth to healthy children during the 

 treatment. The treatment was then neglected, and 

 children were .born who, later in life, developed in 

 one instance blindness, in another paralysis, and in 

 another fits. Had the blood of the mother been 

 periodically examined an indication would have been 

 afforded to continue treatment. 



Because the mother asserts "she has never had 

 a day's illness in her life " it cannot be assumed that 

 she had not been infected and she may still have the 

 organism in her body. I have seen many cases of 

 typical congenital syphilis where the mothers make 

 this statement of perfect health ; one case in which 

 the mother showed no signs, yet undoubtedly was 

 infected, for her two daughters showed typical signs, 

 and therefore must ha've had the syphilitic organism 

 in the body ; one of these daughters married, and 

 the infant suffered with congenital syphilis. The 

 specific organism was transmitted in this instance 

 to the third generation, a rare occurrence. 



I had recently under my care at Charing Cross 

 Hospital two cases of juvenile general paralysis, one 

 with infantilism of the generative organs ; the other 

 was blind from optic atrophy ; both gave a positive 

 reaction of the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid, 

 which shows that the syphilitic organism had invaded 

 the brain. There were no other signs of syphilis 

 about them. The two mothers when interviewed 

 said they had never suffered in any way, never had 

 a day's illness ; both gave a very marked positive 

 reaction of the blood, and this leads me to say that 

 I agree with Neisser that only re-infection indicates 

 the disappearance of the organism from the body. 

 The continuous disappearance of the blood reaction, 

 if it does not indicate certainly the absence of the 



