X, B,1 Albert: Treatment of Infantile Beriberi 83 
present date, and I believe that this medicine is of immense 
value in the treatment of the disease in question and that it is 
excelled by no other drug known at the present time. My dis- 
tinguished colleagues of this city, Doctors Calderon, Quintos, 
Luis and Manuel Guerrero, Valdes, Gabriel, and others, are of 
the same opinion. 
Because of these astonishing results, both the committee for 
the investigation of infant mortality and the Segunda Asamblea 
Regional de Medicos y Farmaceuticos have requested the Phil- 
ippine Legislature to adopt measures so that this extract may 
be distributed freely to the poorer class. As a result of this 
request the Philippine Legislature in February, 1914, passed 
Bill No. 2376 providing the sum of 6,000 pesos * for the prep- 
aration and free distribution of the extract of tiqui-tiqui. The 
bill also provides that the Liga Nacional Filipina para la Pro- 
_ teccion de la Infancia will superintend the preparation and ex- 
perimentation, will look after the free distribution of the extract 
among the poorer class, and will present a written report of 
the results of their experiments, through the Secretary of Public 
Instruction, at the beginning of each regular session. 
Although the time that has elapsed since the first experiments 
were made is not long enough to permit us to draw definite con- 
clusions, our opinion with regard to this extract is very favor- 
able. The administration of the extract when given in time 
and in convenient doses is followed at once by marked improve- 
ment. At the end of twenty-four hours the vomiting, whining, 
restlessness, insomnia, dysphagia, polypnceea, and oliguria all 
disappear as if by magic. To the great surprise of the young 
physician the clinical syndromes change in aspect in a very short 
time, and at the end of three days one can say that the disease 
has disappeared, at least externally, leaving the aphonia which 
in its turn disappears by the end of the seventh or eighth week. 
(I have attended a case in which the aphonia lasted for about 
eight months.) If no improvement follows after twenty-four 
hours or if the case under treatment is of great severity, I 
obtain the desired effect by doubling the dose. It is better 
to give larger than smaller doses. The extract is inoffensive and 
entirely uninjurious, save for a slight diarrhcea which follows 
its administration. With the method of giving large doses to 
acute cases, we have in practice saved from sure death many 
cases of beriberi of the pernicious larval type, which formerly 
were believed to be hopeless and incurable. 
* One peso Philippine currency equals 50 cents United States currency. 
