Lectres on the localisation of cerebral and spinal diseases delivered at the Faculty of Medicine of Paris / Translated and edited by Walter Baugh Hadden.

  • Charcot, Jean Martin.
Date:
1883
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Credit: Lectres on the localisation of cerebral and spinal diseases delivered at the Faculty of Medicine of Paris / Translated and edited by Walter Baugh Hadden. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    In a woman examined post mortem by M. Cliarcot, granular bodies also existed in the foot of the cms cerebri (Pick). We see, then, that everything goes to confirm the clinical and pathological autonomy of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ; and in proportion as the number of cases increases, the noso- grapliical unity of this affection will appear still more evident.^ Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis will then be in the same position as disseminated sclerosis or locomotor ataxy. No one disputes the autonomy of these two spinal diseases ; nevertheless the abnormal and irregular forms differ remarkably from the type described by Duchenne. We may, however, assert that these very forms, as soon as they were referred to their true explanation, mainly contributed to the synthetical conception of ataxy and multi- locular sclerosis. But this synthesis would probably not have been realised even now for locomotor ataxy, if Duchenne had not so ably represented the characters of a type or standard with which the numerous varieties of the species might be compared* The history of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at the present moment is, therefore, at the same crisis as was locomotor ataxy in Duchenne's time. The fundamental type must first be realised, and such was the object M. Charcot had in view in his pre^dous works and in the account which we have just analysed. TKANSLATOE'S NOTE TO APPENDIX. We Lave frequently seen the woman D , whose case is described at pp. 320, 321, in the Appendix, andean testify to the accuracy of the description there given. We had the opportunity also of seeing the post-moi'tem exami- nation, and we remember that even with the naked eye distinct changes were visible in the lateral columns. M. Ballet, M. Charcot's late interne, has kindly sent us further par- ticulars, of which the following is the translation : Three hours after death rigor mortis was very evident in tlie right lower extremity, less pronounced in the left lower extremity. The rigidity, which was less marked in the upper limbs, was rather more marked on the ^ Since these lines were written the series of authentic cases of amyotro- phic lateral sclerosis has been increased by some recent facts, and did we not fear repetition we should give an abstract of them here, as we did for the observations of Nixon, Rigal, Pick and Kahler. Among others consult the very complete observation of Adamkiewicz an, in ' Progrcs Medical,' iSSo ( Separatabdmck' aus den Charite Annalen, v Jiihrgg).