35°Section IV.H. Hallopeau.
Thirdly, there is room for the practise of “ medical prophylaxis” in
eradicating the disease from the persons affected by it. In this last, the
procedure which must be adopted is different according as the disease is in its
primary condition (local) or generalised.
In the primary period, we must get to work with local abortive treatment,
such as we have several times sketched, specially a short time ago at the
Dermatological and Syphilographic Congress at Rome. The possibility of
doing this has been denied on the ground that the disease must be generalised
from the time of appearance of the chancre; this is based on the failure to
cure by removal of the chancre even in the early hours of its development.
I showed, however, that this specious argument missed the point; it is a
mistake to limit the initial infection to the chancre. I established that
there is a whole region of primary infection, which extends all round the
apparent lesion as far as the corresponding glands; the removal of this
entire region is impracticable, but we have demonstrated by our clinical
observations that we can clear out the virus by local injections of a product
endowed with a specific action; this action cannot be utilised on persons
already under mercury, because in their case the reaction is too violent;
but in other cases most satisfactory results are obtained by recourse to
benzosulpho-paraaminophenylarsenate of soda, discovered by M. Mouneyrat,
and named by him “ hectine.”
By repeating daily injections of this preparation over a period of forty
days, one destroys, so to speak, in embryo, the infectious agent, and the
patient is definitively cured of his syphilis; at the end of a year he can be
assured of a “ eugenic ” progeny.
The table which we have the honour to present to the Congress illustrates
the soundness of our contention; there it may be >een that of 39 syphilitics,
treated by our method in the primary stage, 33 have, at the end of a year
or more, shown no traces of secondary mischief; so that there is every
probability that they are definitely rid of their terrible enemy.
Results similar to those we have just shown are obtained by making, in a
given region, two or three injections of salvarsan. However, the com
parison between the two medications is altogether in favour of that by
hectine. Indeed, experience proves that the secondary generalization is
noticeably more frequent after injections of salvarsan, and, besides, these
are far from being always painless. We have made known to the Académie
of Medicine a case in which, within 48 hours, they caused the death of a
young man in good health. Several similar cases have since been notified,
particularly by Dr. Gaucher. Confidently believing in the axiom “ Primo
non nocere,” we explicitly declare ourselves adversaries of a practice which
brings such accidents in its train.
In cases where the disease is generalised, the problem is more difficult.
Nevertheless, there is still a good chance of definitely checking the disease
if we use at the same time injections of salvarsan, mercury, and hectine—
