RT Journal
A1 McQuarrie I
T1 "Epilepsy in children"-reply
JF American Journal of Diseases of Children
JO American Journal of Diseases of Children
YR 1929
FD November 1
VO 38
IS 5
SP 1069
OP 1070
DO 10.1001/archpedi.1929.01930110167022
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1929.01930110167022
AB To the Editor:—In reply to Dr. Peterman's letter regarding two of our recent publications, I wish to say that we have placed no claim on the mechanical theory of epilepsy with reference to the effect of dehydration. Nor have we presumed to be the first to observe the dehydrating effect of the ketogenic type of diet. Hippocrates expressed the former several hundred years B. C., and Stark found the latter to be true in 1769. We had not read the paper of Elsberg and Pike (1926) on the effects of increased intracranial pressure in cats and so had missed their brief speculation regarding the possible benefit of fasting in epilepsy. This particular phase of the problem has concerned us only incidentally.As stated in our short paper, my interest in the water balance problem had its origin several years ago in the observation of Gamble, Ross and Tisdall (J.