Newly reported uses for old drugs:
¶ Prostigmine, a chemical long used against myasthenia gravis (a sometimes fatal fatigue& -weakness disease) and lately found useful for polio (TIME, Aug. 23, 1943), now turns out to help some cases of crippling arthritis, spastic paralysis, facial paralysis, paralytic stroke. After treatment with prostigmine, one paralytic, reported Dr. Herman Rabat of the U.S. Public Health Service, moved his right side for the first time in 17 years.
¶Penicillin lozenges, made of penicillin and gelatin, will clear up trench mouth in a day, tonsillitis in two days, say Britain’s Drs. Alexander B. MacGregor and David A. Long. Lozenges have a “very slightly bitter taste” but one patient ate ten in five minutes.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- The New Face of Doctor Who
- Putin’s Enemies Are Struggling to Unite
- Women Say They Were Pressured Into Long-Term Birth Control
- Scientists Are Finding Out Just How Toxic Your Stuff Is
- Boredom Makes Us Human
- John Mulaney Has What Late Night Needs
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com