From: corafinch . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/31/2010 6:38:00 PM
wrote:
>
> What exactly was the belladonna treatment used on Bill W. at Towns
Hospital,
when he came in for initial detoxing?
Bill Pittman, in "AA, The Way it Began," seems to have been the first to
answer
this question by reprinting the formulas from Dr. Alexander Lambert's
article in
the Journal of the American Medical Association on Sept 25, 1909, about the
"belladonna cure." The problem of course is that 25 years had elapsed by the
time Bill was treated at Town's. Lambert dissociated himself from Towns in
the
1920s, noting that patients tended to relapse quickly, and there seemed to
be
too many deaths during the detox stage.
So it isn't surprising that Silkworth described things differently in 1937
(in
the same article excerpted in the last "Moral Psychology" post). Silkworth
was
using alcohol along with sedatives in the first few days in those at risk
for
DT's. It would be a good guess that this group included Bill. He was also
using
orthocolloidal iodine and orthocolloidal gold. That sounds like something he
might have picked up from the Keeley Cure, which also included an oral
mixture
containing belladonna. I don't think Silkworth mentioned belladonna, but he
also
didn't say what sedatives he was using.
If the ingredients in the formulas seem inconsistent, keep in mind that
hyoscine
is the same as atropine, and hyoscyamine is the same as scopalamine.
Hyoscyamus,
however, is also the name of a plant, common name henbane, containing
scopalamine. Scopalamine is more sedating than atropine and although plain
belladonna tincture has both alkaloids, the predominant effect is from the
atropine. So Town's mixture would have been more sedating and less
excitatory
than pure belladonna.
A tincture is more dilute than a fluidextract, and although some reprints do
no
make this clear, Lambert called for belladonna diluted in 85% zanthoxylum,
mixed in a 2 to 1 ration with the hyoscyamus fluidextract. A confusing
detail is
Lambert's use of the term "alkaloid of hydrast" as though it were synonymous
with zanthoxylum. Hydrastis (goldenseal) is a separate plant from
Zanthoxylum
(prickly ash). However, they do have a major alkaloid, berberine, in common.
Bill Pittman quoted a reference implying that the reason for the zanthoxylum
had
to do with gastrointestinal effects. I think it may be more likely that it
was
used for its cardiovascular effects. Berberine lowers blood pressure by
reducing
peripheral resistance, and also lowers the heart rate. Both of these effects
would have been important in alcohol withdrawal, and there were few
effective
antihypertensives at the time.
I don't know why doctors thought is was helpful to make people vomit, but I
have
seen mention of it as valuable in 1930s-era article on alcohol withdrawal.
Cleaning out the GI tract from both ends was supposed to get rid of
unspecified
"toxins," and along with all the sedatives would make people so exhausted
that
they slept.
>
> Pass It On (p. 101) makes no mention of xanthoxylum (prickly ash) or
hyoscyamus (henbane) being included in the mixture.
>
> It says instead that alcoholics were given belladonna and castor oil (a
powerful laxative).
>
> Someone who remembered Towns Hospital <
where
alcoholics were "purged and puked." The purging was most probably the effect
of
the liberal does of castor oil that the patients were given, together with
belladonna. The belladonna treatment at Towns had been developed by Dr. Sam
Lambert, a reputable New York physician, but it was the chief of staff, Dr.
Silkworth, who would in time to come have the most impact on the treatment
of
alcoholism.>>
The Dr. Lambert at Town's was Alexander. His brother Samuel was also a
doctor
but with a different approach. Alexander Lambert was opposed to alcohol use
in
general and supported Prohibition. Dr. Samuel Lambert was opposed to
Prohibition
and believed that alcohol use by the non-alcoholic was health-promoting.
>
> - - - -
>
> http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/6565
> noted that some internet references claimed that Bill W. was given a
mixture
of belladonna (deadly nightshade), xanthoxylum (prickly ash), and hyoscyamus
(henbane).
>
> But it has not been verified that Dr. Silkworth was using anything other
than
belladonna by itself.
>
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++++Message 6615. . . . . . . . . . . . Flag Ceremony San Antonio 2010
From: john wikelius . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/11/2010 8:15:00 AM
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Hope you are as ready as we are to celebrate A.A.s 75th Anniversary! This
email
is a friendly reminder about the unlimited access to an encrypted,
anonymity-protected Internet broadcast of the 2010 International Convention
Opening Flag Ceremony that will be made available through G.S.O.s A.A. Web
site
(www.aa.org
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