The formation and excretion of uric acid : considered with reference to gout and allied diseases / by A. Haig.

  • Haig, Alexander, 1853-1924.
Date:
1888
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The formation and excretion of uric acid : considered with reference to gout and allied diseases / by A. Haig. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    to expect the presence of excess of uric acid in the blood. I should believe therefore, for several reasons, that both the high tension pulse and the melancholia which Dr. Broadbent finds associated with it are due to excess of uric acid in the blood. In the same lectures Dr. Broadbent narrates the history of a case of mental derangement in which, It was found by observation that her mental con- dition was always worse when the pulse tension was high, and that the only way of keeping it down was to cut off all meat and feed the patient chiefly on milk. When the tension was high she was suspicious, abusive, violent and unmanageable. When it was normal she was cheerful and tractable. The above exactly resemble the mental states I can produce by influencing uric acid, and I have reason to believe the pulse tension would vary with the amount of uric acid in the blood ; the diet also, which was found to be useful, is just that best calculated to prevent uric acid retention. It would, I think, be impossible to find any statement more strongly and completely confirmatory of my views as to the causation of such mental trouble by uric acid. Dr. Broadbent's remarks on the pulse in epilepsy are of great interest, and especially what he says about some cases of this disorder which are asso- ciated with chronic high tension of the pulse, and are found to be very amenable to a diet with a restricted amount of animal food. It is now easy to see why an attack of mania, melan- cholia, or headache should sometimes come to a sudden termination in an attack of gout (and not a few such cases are recorded). For anything that