The letter is an insult to the physician to whom it was written. If physicians were not so apathetic in cases of this kind, the corporation of John Wyeth & Brother would long since have been forced “off the fence”—it would have become either a “patent medicine” concern or would have confined its activities to the manufacture of pharmaceutical products and ethically exploited proprietaries. Now what about this Collyrium-Wyeth? It was analyzed in the Chemical Laboratory of the American Medical Association and the chemists report:
“The specimen of Collyrium-Wyeth examined was a clear, colorless liquid having a faint odor like benzaldehyd. Qualitative tests demonstrated the presence of antipyrin, free boric acid and sodium borate. Acetanilid, ammonium salts, glycerin, nitrates, phosphoric acid and pyramidon were absent. Such potent alkaloids as atropin, cocain, homatropin and pilocarpin, which are often used in ocular surgery, were not found. Preparations of goldenseal were not present. Quantitive examination indicated that the composition of the preparation examined is essentially as follows:
| “Antipyrin | 0.41 | gm. |
| “Sodium borate | 0.55 | gm. |
| “Boric acid | 2.14 | gm. |
| “Water (by difference) to make | 100.00 | c.c.” |
The secret of such a formula must indeed be a “valuable asset!” We venture the assertion that if the medical profession did its duty, the corporation of John Wyeth & Brother would find that its “duty to the stockholders of the company” constrained it to abandon secret “patent medicines” and to confine its activities to a legitimate line of pharmaceutical products. An examination of the firm’s pricelist reveals but a very few secret-formula preparations of the type represented by Collyrium, hence it would probably not seriously damage the business of the firm either to eliminate all such formulas from its pricelist or to enable the physician to use them intelligently, if they deserve it.—(From The Journal A. M. A., May 17, 1913.)
DIATUSSIN
Dr. I. Fleiss, New York, writes:
“Please state the value of Diatussin, of Bischoff & Co, in pertussis. Since pertussis is such an intractable disease, anything which promises improvement is apt to attract the physician’s attention.”
According to an advertising circular, issued by E. Bischoff & Co, purporting to be a “reprint from the Munich Medical Weekly,” Diatussin is “... a dialysate of Herbæ Thymi and Pinguiculae.” The latter is said to be known in the Alps as “blue fatweed.” The only further information as to the composition of this preparation is the statement that “the dialysate of this blue fatweed is said by the manufacturer to contain a proteolytic ferment.” The writer of the article recounts how, after trying a host of remedies, he finally had such success in the treatment of whooping-cough that “... a whole procession of mothers with children affected by whooping-cough came to me from a neighboring village, only because several children from this place had been quickly cured by the dialysate.” Nevertheless, while the “procession of mothers” appears to have been impressed by the virtues of Diatussin, the writer of the article, rather modestly for contributors of this sort, admits that “I am, of course, well aware, that the small number of cases under my observation allows of no decisive conclusion; it is only the object of these lines to interest a wider circle in tests.”—(From The Journal A. M. A., May 17, 1913.)