Acupuncture and Osier To the Editor.\p=m-\While reading HarCushing's1 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Sir William Osler, I came across the following passage. It is an account of Dr Osler's unsuccessful use of acupuncture to treat a patient suffering from lumbago. Although the date of this event is somewhat uncertain, it probably occurred in 1880. vey
. for the patient was none other than old Peter Redpath, the wealthy Montreal sugar-refiner, who being on the 'M.G.H.' Board had hopes that the newly appointed physician might be able to cure him of an .
intractable lumbago. He arrived exhausted after mounting the stairs, and in due course they proceeded to treat him by acupuncture, a popular procedure of the day, which consists in thrusting a long needle into the muscles of the small of the back. At each jab the old gentleman is said to have ripped out a string of oaths, and in the end got up and hobbled out, no better of his pain, this to Osier's great distress, for he had expected to give him immediate relief which, as he said, 'meant a million for McGill.' Scott Hundahl Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, Conn
.
the
to 48 years of both
Editor.\p=m-\Neutrophils of
patients with Down's syndrome
Cushing H: The Life of Sir William Osier. London, University Press, 1926, vol 1, p 177.
healthy subjects aged from
Neutrophil Viability in Down's Syndrome To
1.
Oxford
are
known to have numerous abnormalities associated with diminished resistance to infection.1,2 Several granulocyte functions have been measured in these patients: chemotaxis, phagocytosis, intracellular killing and metabolism; however, the survival of circulating neutrophils has not been investigated. The purpose of our study was to determine whether or not dead granulocytes are present in patients with trisomy 21 and in normal subjects. A supravital staining, the eosin ion exclusion test of Hanks and Wallace3 as described elsewhere,4 was employed in this investigation. Loopspots of 1% aqueous eosin allowed to dry on a clean slide are rehydrated with 2-mm loops of heparinized fingertip or venous blood no more than 30 minutes after the removal. After two minutes at room temperature, the percentage of granulocytes containing eosin was determined by microscopic observation of droplets that have been fixed in 95% alcohol. With this method, nonviable cells are permeable to eosin ion and stain pink. The validity of this technique has been confirmed by clinical studies.5 Tests were undertaken on venous blood obtained from 24 patients between the ages of 1 month and 56 years with trisomy 21 and from 36
The
mean
1 month
sexes.
percentage of nonviable
neutrophils expressed by leukocytes was significantly higher (P
. for the patient was none other than old Peter Redpath, the wealthy Montreal sugar-refiner, who being on the 'M.G.H.' Board had hopes that the newly appointed physician might be able to cure him of an .
intractable lumbago. He arrived exhausted after mounting the stairs, and in due course they proceeded to treat him by acupuncture, a popular procedure of the day, which consists in thrusting a long needle into the muscles of the small of the back. At each jab the old gentleman is said to have ripped out a string of oaths, and in the end got up and hobbled out, no better of his pain, this to Osier's great distress, for he had expected to give him immediate relief which, as he said, 'meant a million for McGill.' Scott Hundahl Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, Conn
.
the
to 48 years of both
Editor.\p=m-\Neutrophils of
patients with Down's syndrome
Cushing H: The Life of Sir William Osier. London, University Press, 1926, vol 1, p 177.
healthy subjects aged from
Neutrophil Viability in Down's Syndrome To
1.
Oxford
are
known to have numerous abnormalities associated with diminished resistance to infection.1,2 Several granulocyte functions have been measured in these patients: chemotaxis, phagocytosis, intracellular killing and metabolism; however, the survival of circulating neutrophils has not been investigated. The purpose of our study was to determine whether or not dead granulocytes are present in patients with trisomy 21 and in normal subjects. A supravital staining, the eosin ion exclusion test of Hanks and Wallace3 as described elsewhere,4 was employed in this investigation. Loopspots of 1% aqueous eosin allowed to dry on a clean slide are rehydrated with 2-mm loops of heparinized fingertip or venous blood no more than 30 minutes after the removal. After two minutes at room temperature, the percentage of granulocytes containing eosin was determined by microscopic observation of droplets that have been fixed in 95% alcohol. With this method, nonviable cells are permeable to eosin ion and stain pink. The validity of this technique has been confirmed by clinical studies.5 Tests were undertaken on venous blood obtained from 24 patients between the ages of 1 month and 56 years with trisomy 21 and from 36
The
mean
1 month
sexes.
percentage of nonviable
neutrophils expressed by leukocytes was significantly higher (P
