| Abstrakt: |
In the early days of the use of X rays as a therapeutic agent they were applied to many conditions, but in recent years their undoubted effect on malignant disease has pervaded the literature to such an extent that there may be a tendency to overlook the benefit that may be obtained in non-malignant diseases. In this paper the history and pathology of Syringo-myelia are discussed, and cases are described which show that X rays offer a very valuable means of treating this disease.The first case of syringo-myelia to be treated by X rays was published in 1905 in the Journal des Practiciensby Raymond, Oberthur and Delherm. The patient was a young woman who, after twelve months of X-ray treatment, showed an improvement in motor and sensory disturbances. Three years later they published further observations on this same case and were able to show that this improvement had been maintained. From 1905 until 1912 about thirty cases in all were treated by different observers, and their findings summarised by Sahatchieff, who estimated that radiation had been successful in about 80 per cent of cases. |
