History of four cases of eclampsia nutans, or the 'salaam' convulsions of infancy, with suggestions as to its origin and future treatment / [William Newnham].

  • Newnham, W. (William), 1790-1865.
Date:
[1849]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: History of four cases of eclampsia nutans, or the 'salaam' convulsions of infancy, with suggestions as to its origin and future treatment / [William Newnham]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ESSAY ON ECLAMPSIA. Imperfect as is confessedly the following sketch—not only as regards the history of the disorder in question, but still more as affording a plausible rationale of the symptoms, or a hopeful method of cure—still I venture to believe that it is the most perfect history that can be obtained of a malady hitherto undescribed, except by a short narrative of the beginning of the case No. 2, which appeared in the Lancet of Feb. 13th, 1841, and described that case only during the first twelve months of life ; its subsequent history down to the present hour, is only to be found in the following pages. If the malady has hitherto been almost undescribed, it is quite certain that it is as ill understood, and that, as yet, its treatment has been almost entirely empirical. My hope is, that by placing the following cases in juxta-position, something like a consistent history of the usual commencement, progress, and termination, of this disordered action may be established—that the attention may be awakened to what is confessedly a very rare form of disorder— and that, ultimately, some rational method of relief may be dis¬ covered. That the malady in question must be very important, may be gathered from its terrific results. It will be seen that of the four cases related, two have terminated in idiocy, in the destruction of all the powers and privileges of man—in that living death which is far more painful to friends than the positive extinction of life ; that in the third, the same state of impaired intellect had occurred, and would have terminated probably in complete idiocy, had not the life been most mercifully cut short by another malady ; and that in only one out of the four cases was cerebral power at all re-adjusted, and that only with great difficulty, and never returning to its pris¬ tine vigour. If then the consequences of this disordered condition be so awfully terrific, how important does it become that it should engage our best attention, and secure our most diligent observation. It is worthy of remark that in all the cases narrated or alluded B