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ANNALES DE L’INSTITUT PA STE U K 
by antibodies ; hence an artificial combination of spécifie drug 
and spécifie anlibody should offer definite therapeutic advan- 
tages. It is, moreover, probable that an antibody or drug 
will operaLe wilh greater affect against an alieady injured 
tha nagainst a normal parasite; while mutation or variation 
among the parasite is less readily achieved in several directions 
than in one direction. 
Jn certain departements of medicine local iherapy bas long 
been employed. This fact is especially frue as regards the 
treatment of diseases and wounds of the exposed surfaces of 
the skin and of such of the mucous membranes as are readily 
accessible from withoul. In a somewhat different class belong 
devices for causing local hyperemia, such as beat and pres¬ 
sure, which dépend for their value upon the local accumulation 
of the défensive principles contained within the blood. But 
local spécifie therapy in the sense here employed relates to the 
purposeful treatment of infectious processes whelher within 
the body or merely on its surface by means of spécifie antibodies 
or drugs especially fashioned toi* the purpose. 
The central nervous System. 
Local spécifie therapy is especially applicable to the treatment 
of infections iu the région of the central nervous organa, 
namely, the méningés and the nervous organs proper. Tlius 
far the greatest advauce lias been made in the treatment of 
infections of the méningés, among which that infection 
caused by the meningococcus ternied épidémie cerebrospinal 
meningitis lias received the greatest attention. 
Meningocoecal Meningitis . — A long sériés of observations 
indicate that the injection of an antimeningococcal sérum into 
the subarachnoid space reduces the mortality, the period of 
illness, and the number of sequale occurring in épidémie 
meningitis [4]. At first regarded as identical, it now appears 
that more than one strain of meningococci , antigeneiically 
considered, occurs in nature. Bossibly dissimilar and résistant 
or fast strains may arise also arlificially under the influence of 
antibodies contained within the méningés, llowever lliis may 
be, an important variant from the common strain of menin- 
