Part 27

LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA

THE CAUSE

The principal cause of locomotor ataxia is syphilis, the treatment of which has not been sufficiently thorough. So, after lying latent--sometimes for as long a period as twenty years--the disease breaks out again, the germs (which are called spirochaeta pallida) assume new virulence, and attack the nervous system--usually the posterior column of the spinal cord.

Not infrequently, the optic nerve is also affected, developing what is known as gray atrophy of the nerves. This causes a gradual loss of vision, and finally, relative blindness.

Locomotor ataxia may occasionally be brought on by long-continued exposures to wet and cold, injuries to the spinal column, and by excesses of various kinds. But its chief origin is in syphilis--indeed, most European authorities claim that this is its only origin.

LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA--THE SYMPTOMS

Among the earliest symptoms of ataxia are the so-called lightning or lancinating pains--which come on in paroxyms of varying duration--lasting for hours, or even days at a time. These pains may be burning, tearing, cutting or boring in their nature--and usually affect only the upper half of the body.

There is generally, also, a sense of constriction in the throat--as of a choking by the clutch of a hand--and sometimes regurgitation of food, intense pains around the heart or in the epigastrium--with flatulence, eructations, and hiccough.

A very common symptom is the so-called "girdle," a sensation as though a rope or band were tightly drawn around the body at the waist. One of the earliest noticeable symptoms is the want of co-ordination--ataxia. This is most pronounced in the lower extremities, and is responsible for the unsteadiness of ataxics in walking or standing.

The gait in ataxia is staggering--resembling somewhat the inco-ordination of a man under the influence of alcohol, and there is an exaggerated lifting of the feet and legs with each step. The normal "knee-jerk" reflex--that quick jerk of the foot and lower leg that follows a sharp blow struck below the knee when the leg is held free--is generally abolished. In fact, this failure of the reflexes is usually one of the earliest diagnostic symptoms.

Later in the disease the sphincters of the bladder and the anus lose their power to contract, and there is incontinence of both urine and feces.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DIET

As with any other disease in which there are serious trophic changes, and the generation within the system of toxic products from food decay, it is absolutely indispensable in ataxia to observe the utmost care in the selection of the diet. The food should be light, but nutritious--nourishing and strengthening the system, without, at the same time, putting too great a tax upon the organs of digestion and assimilation.

Particular care should be taken to insure daily movements of the bowels, and to see that the kidneys are flushed with a plentiful supply of water drunk each day.

LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA--THE REMEDY

The generally accepted opinion among medical men is that locomotor ataxia is an incurable disease, and that there is little or nothing that any form of treatment can accomplish that will tend to restore function--or even to arrest the course of the disease, and postpone its fatal termination.

With this opinion I beg leave to differ. I am convinced that, by the proper regulation of the diet, limiting the system only to that which it requires for its complete nourishment--giving ample quantities of those foods that are rich in lecithin (or nerve-fat) and phosphorus--such as eggs, milk, whole wheat bread, fish, roe, etc.--much may be done to arrest the progress of the disease.

This, in combination with the proper kind of exercise--particularly those forms of which the "Fraenkel Movement System" is an example,--will do a wonderful amount of good in re-educating such groups of nerves in the spinal column as have not yet suffered degenerative changes.

The following diet is a mere suggestion, subject to change in order to meet the conditions of temperature, age, and activity.

Immediately on rising, the patient should take a few spoonfuls of strained orange juice and drink a cup of hot water. He should also devote a few minutes to deep breathing, and such moderate exercises as he is able to endure.

BREAKFAST

The whites of four eggs and the yolks of two (If digestion is good, the whites of six eggs may be taken--one yolk to each two whites)

A glass of milk

A tablespoonful of nuts

One very ripe banana with cream

Three or four dates

LUNCHEON

Three or four eggs whipped eight minutes; to each egg add one teaspoonful of lemon juice, and a heaping teaspoonful of sugar; whip this mixture into a quart of milk; drink slowly