TIME
The Indian arrow poison curare (rhymes with safari) is sometimes used in abdominal surgery and in spastic paralysis, to relax taut muscles. But doctors have not generally liked it much, because an overdose will kill a patient.
A new use for curare was described in the Journal of the American Medical Association last week: Dr. Nicholas S. Ransohoff of Long Branch, N.J. says it has helped relax polio patients. (They often have severe cramps, because paralyzed muscles cause unaffected muscles near by to contract.)
Dr. Ransohoff does not say that curare is a cure for polio—it cannot restore destroyed nerves. All he claims is that his treatment makes the acute stage more bearable.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- The Reinvention of J.D. Vance
- Iran, Trump, and the Third Assassination Plot
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Scams
- Did the Pandemic Break Our Brains?
- 33 True Crime Documentaries That Shaped the Genre
- The Ordained Rabbi Who Bought a Porn Company
- Introducing the Democracy Defenders
- Why Gut Health Issues Are More Common in Women
Contact us at letters@time.com