Article1 March 1952THE MECHANISM INVOLVED IN POLYNEURITIS AS EXEMPLIFIED BY POSTDIPHTHERITIC POLYNEURITISMADELAINE RAY BROWN, F.A.C.P.MADELAINE RAY BROWN, F.A.C.P.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-36-3-786 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThe toxin of the diphtheria bacillus offers the physician an unusual opportunity to observe the onset and march of signs in polyneuritis. The patient is in the hospital 10 days before the onset of palatal weakness and several weeks before the onset of paralysis of the limbs. Because the etiology of postdiphtheritic polyneuritis is known, a study of 53 such patients may shed light on the mechanism involved in 40 patients with a polyneuritis of unknown etiology but similar to the postdiphtheritic type in its clinical manifestations, spinal fluid and postmortem findings.Since 1943, diphtheria has increased steadily in Boston,...Bibliography1. Place EH: Diphtheria, in Oxford Medicine, vol. 5, Pt. 1, 1949, Oxford University Press, New York, 125-126. Google Scholar2. Pappenheimer AM: Diphtheria toxin: isolation and characterization of toxic protein from Corynebacterium diphtheriae filtrates, J. Biol. Chem. 120: 543-553, 1937. CrossrefGoogle Scholar3. Northrup JH: Purification of diphtheria antitoxin, Science 93: 92, 1941. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Feiner RR: Experimental diphtheritic paralysis, J. Immunol. 42: 273-289, 1941. Google Scholar5. CameronMuir JDEG: Cutaneous diphtheria in northern Palestine, Lancet 2: 720-723, 1942. CrossrefGoogle Scholar6. GaskillKorb HSM: Occurrence of multiple neuritis in cases of cutaneous diphtheria, Arch. Neurol. and Psychiat. 55: 559-572 (June) 1946. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. ForsterBrownMerritt RMMRHH: Polyneuritis with facial diplegia, New England J. Med. 225: 51-56, 1941. CrossrefGoogle Scholar8. HaymakerKernohan WJW: The Landry-Guillain-Barré syndrome, Medicine 28: 59-141 (Feb.) 1949. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Boston, Massachusetts*Received for publication March 16, 1951.From the Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byAcute and Subacute NeuropathiesErkrankungen der peripheren Nerven 1 March 1952Volume 36, Issue 3Page: 786-791KeywordsBacillusDiphtheriaEtiologyNeurologyParalysisToxins ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 March 1952 PDF downloadLoading ...