110 The Philippine Journal of Science 1915 
illness. They had consulted a physician, who prescribed a seda- 
tive without noticeable improvement according to the parents. 
They said the child had had a convulsion the day before. The 
baby was pale, peevish, and weak. The abdomen was distended, 
vomiting was rather frequent, and the child was persistently 
constipated. There was slight cedema, the face being puffy and 
the skin pitting slightly on pressure. The knee jerks were 
normally active. The heart beat was rather rapid, but other- 
wise apparently normal. 
The child was given 1 cubic centimeter of hydrolyzed extract 
three times daily. The dose was later increased to 3 cubic centi- 
meters. It continued to nurse at the breast, the mother not 
being treated at this time. After three days the child was much 
improved, ceased to vomit, and became stronger and more active, 
although there was still more or less colic. Later it became 
strong and well and gained 23 ounces in weight during ten days, 
beginning with the second day of treatment. 
All of the cases treated with hydrolyzed extract, except the 
2 infants, were chronic or recurrent. Our experience shows 
that hydrolyzed extract gives distinct relief in chronic cases 
and better results than any other line of treatment with which 
we are acquainted. We are strongly of the opinion, previously 
expressed and shared by many others, that such cases can be 
completely cured, if at all, only by long periods of good care 
and feeding. It is quite reasonable to suppose that in these cases 
permanent and extensive nerve lesions have been produced, the 
rapid repair of which is out of the question. The most that 
should be expected of the hydrolyzed extract to do is to stop 
the progress of degeneration. 
In the infant cases hydrolyzed extract produced apparéntly 
complete cures, and may reasonably be expected to be more ef- 
fective than neutral extract. The danger of poisoning must, 
however, always be kept in mind. 
UNHYDROLYZED EXTRACT 
The following 6 cases were treated with the ordinary neutral 
extract of rice polishings. The infantile cases came under our 
care during the treatment of the mothers and were treated on 
general principles, not for the value of the experimental results. 
CASE 18 
An infant of 2 months was admitted with the beriberic mother 
(case 12), who had partially recovered from an illness previously 
