•COMPLIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR. 
ON ASTHMA, 
Its Causation and Treatment; with Reports of Cases. 
Alkalithia, as a Positive Cure. 
J. W. HUNTER, M. D., WACO, TEXAS. 
A paper read before The Texas State Medical Association, April 23, 1895. 
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: 
THE pathology is unknown in most cases, although some light 
has been thrown upon it recently by Alexander Haig, M. A., 
M. D., F. R. C. P., London, in a work entitled,“Uric Acid as 
a Factor in the Causation of Disease,” and 1 shall quote freely 
from this author in the course of my paper. The symptomatology 
and diagnosis of asthma are so well known by every intelligent 
physician that they will not be recited in this paper, hence we 
will come at once to the causation of this most perplexing disease. 
As a text to the causation and treatment of asthma, I will state, 
that six months ago, while in San Antonio, I met Dr. F. M. Hicks, 
of that city, who said to me that spasmodic asthma, in his judg- 
ment, in the majority of cases was due to uric acid in the blood. 
He had cured two cases with Alkalithia, and that he believed the 
modus operandi of this cure by Alkalithia was by a neutralization of 
the hyperacid condition of the blood, with this powerful alkali, 
each heaping teaspoonful of which contains caffeine, i grain ; car- 
bonate of lithia, 5 grains ; bicarbonates of potash and soda 
each io grains. Dr. Hicks asked me to call the attention ASTH.WA CURED BY ALKALI THIA. 
of the profession to this uric acid theory as a causation of asthma, 
that we might investigate it and see what there was in it, in con- 
sequence of which investigation, as you will see further on in this 
paper when we come to the reports of cases, we have struck the 
key-note in regard to the causation of this agonizing disease. 
Dr. Haig, referred to above, in an article in Wood’s Medical 
and Surgical Monographs, N. Y., Feb. 1890, page 359, on “uric 
acid as a cause of disease,” after quoting headache, dyspepsia, 
mental depression, epilepsy, gout, acute rheumatism, etc., said 
with regard to asthma : “ Here again we have a possibly func- 
tional disorder, which, like so many 1 have mentioned has long 
borne a somewhat indefinite relation to gout, and it has occurred 
to me, since my investigation on uric acid has brought to my 
notice its action on the arterioles, that directly or indirectly it 
may affect the circulation in the bronchi and lungs, and so produce 
asthma. There are also not a few points in the history and 
symptoms of asthma and the onset of the attacks, which may be 
taken as pointing to its possible origin in a uric acid storm.” He 
says in the late edition of his work (1894): “ I have mentioned 
elsewhere several things which seem to make it probable that 
uric acid affects both the pulmonary and the systemic circulation 
in the same way.” 
My interest in the matter was also greatly enhanced by see- 
ing in the Lancet, a notice of a paper by Dr. Yavelin, of St. 
Petersburg, in which it appeared that large doses of citrate and 
carbonate of soda diminished the excretion of water from the skin 
and lungs, for 1 already knew that similar doses of these alkaline 
salts would, by increasing uric acid in the blood, contract the 
vessels in the kidneys and diminish, so long as the excess of uric 
acid might last, the excretion of water in the urine. It seemed 
probable, then, from these considerations, that uric acid not only 
affected, as 1 already knew well, the vessels of the kidneys and 
skin, but Dr. Yavelin’s results made it probable that it affected 
also the vessels of the lungs, and diminished the output of water 
therefrom, and as soon as I was able to, 1 began some researches 
with a view of confirming Dr. Yavelin’s results, which will be 
found on page 176 of his late work. 
Now then, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I understand from 
the above results of Dr. Yavelin and Dr. Haig, and also from the ASTHMA CURED BY ALKALITHIA. 
3 
results of Dr. Haig, spoken of in his work, further on, that the 
alkalies being uric acid solvents, caused an increase of the uric 
acid in the blood for the time being, which caused a small excre- 
tion of water, by contracting the arterioles of the lungs and 
kidneys, and hence the asthma was produced by the contraction 
of the vessels of the lungs and bronchi by the uricacidcemia. 
Dr. Haig also says, from his experiments, that with the scanty 
urine, we have a large excretion of uric acid, so that when the 
blood is cleared of the uric acid, we have the dilatation of the 
vessels and hence the diuretic effect of the alkalies, so to speak, 
and the arterial tension being relieved in the lungs and bronchi 
the wheezing stops. 
Asthma is usually spoken of as a paroxysmal affection, 
attacks coming on suddenly, about 2 A. M. to 4 A. M., when the 
sufferer has gone to bed quite well. Dr. Haig says asthma has 
been called by Dr. Goodhart and others a paroxysmal neurosis, 
and they would, 1 suppose, class migraine and epilepsy in the 
same category. I have shown however that many cases of 
migraine and epilepsy are entirely due to the changes which 
uric acid produces in the circulation, and that if the blood is kept 
clear of this poison, the attacks will practically cease to recur, and 
my researches leave little or no doubt in my mind that asthma 
represents one of the effects of uric acid on the circulation in the 
thorax. 
Now then, Mr. Chairman, we shall see further on, when we 
come to reports of cases, that clearing the blood of uric acid, and 
keeping it clear, is the only point necessary in the treatment of asthma. 
Now we come to the relationship of asthma attack to the 
excretion of uric acid. Dr. Haig says the first thing that directed 
his attention to this matter was the similar effects of diet, both in 
migraine and asthma, he himself having been a sufferer from 
migraine, and that when he was on ordinary meat diet he usually 
had 30 or 40 attacks in a year, but when he was on extra meat 
diet, for the purpose of training, at Oxford, his attacks were more 
frequent and severe, while now, when he takes no meat at all, 
his headaches are practically absent altogether. He also said that 
his fellow student, Dr. W. E. Stevenson, suffered in the same 
way with his asthma, while training at Cambridge. He said Dr. 
Stevenson also suffered at times with headaches and with acute 4 
ASTHMA CURED BY ALKALITHIA. 
rheumatism, showing the relation between these diseases and 
asthma, and his pulse was often slow and of high tension. He 
says, I have had slight attacks of asthma myself, and before 1 rec- 
ognized this relationship, they caused me considerable uneasiness 
by suggesting more serious disease; thus 1 noticed that occasionally 
in the early morning before breakfast, I had a feeling of heaviness 
behind the sternum, with a little wheezing, followed by expec- 
toration of a little mucus; I also noticed that the pain disappeared 
soon after breakfast, though both the pain and wheezing occa- 
sionally returned about 5 or 6 P. M. to disappear after dinner. 
Some time after this in the course of an experiment I purposely 
increased the excretion of uric acid and the amount passing 
through the blood, when 1 found that my chest troubles were 
decidedly worse during this experiment, but when 1 reversed the 
process and cleared the blood of uric acid, my chest troubles 
suddenly and completely disappeared, and remained so for 
some time, until one or two meat and wine dinners with friends 
increased the uric acid and brought back a morning wheeze. 
This opened my eyes to the nature of my trouble and 1 was at 
once able to explain its periodicity, for, as I have pointed out, the 
largest excretion of uric acid occurs in the early morning hours 
before breakfast, and the next largest in what 1 call the afternoon 
alkaline tide from 3 to 6 P. M. 
1 was told by Mr. McKever, of McGregor, Texas, the other 
day, who had been a great sufferer from asthma, that his urine 
was always scant during an attack of asthma, but as soon as the 
attack was over he had a diuresis, showing that the uric acid in 
the blood had contracted the arterioles in the kidneys as well as 
in the lungs, hence the small excretion of water and large 
excretion of uric acid during the attack, to be followed by a 
diuresis as soon as the uric acid had been cleared from the blood. 
This same gentleman told me that he had not had any asthma for 
several months, but he was suffering with rheumatism. And I 
may mention incidentally, while on this point, that Dr. McHenry, 
of San Angelo, Texas, told me that he had a patient, a lady who 
suffered very much with asthma while in San Angelo, but that he 
had sent her to Colorado to see if a change of climate would not 
relieve her asthma. It did so, but she was suffering terribly 
with rheumatism, showing that the uric acid had been cleared from ASTHMA CURED BY ALKALITHIA. 
5 
the blood by the climate, but was deposited in the joints, and 
hence the rheumatism. 
Dr. Haig says, if asthma has a causation such as 1 am sug- 
gesting, it will be made worse by anything that contracts the 
systemic arterioles and raises arterial tension, and it will be 
made better by anything that relaxes the arterioles and reduces 
arterial tension ; it will also be made worse by anything that 
obstructs the free entry of air into the thorax. The most common 
cause of high arterial tension is uric acid in the blood, and this 
suffices to explain at once the relationship of asthma to gout and 
various other diseases. To sum up then, Dr. Haig says asthma 
is due to uric acid in the blood and the high arterial tension it pro- 
duces. When from any extraneous cause, as a chill, a blow, a 
local irritation, or a rise of temperature, uric acid is precipitated 
(crystallized) in a joint, the blood is cleared of the excess it pre- 
viously contained, and the high tension and the asthma subside. 
An interesting case of this kind is mentioned in the British [Med- 
ical Journal, vol. n, 1888, p. 954, where it is told of Frederick 
the Great that he had a severe attack of dyspnoea, followed next 
day by gout, while it was further said that he was very gouty 
and had an irascible temper, this last representing the effects of 
uric acid on the intro-cranial circulation, just as the dyspnoea 
represented its effects on the thoracic. 
“ The relationship of asthma to nasal irritation and obstruc- 
tion may be simply that these tend to diminish the free inrush 
of air in inspiration, and thus tend to diminish for a time the 
atmospheric pressure in the chest, and so increase the congestion 
in the bronchial area ; other things, as arterial tension, remaining 
the same. Hay asthma, oat asthma, etc., may in this way be 
due to the irritant action of certain small particles producing 
nasal congestion and obstruction, with the concomitant action in 
the case of hay asthma of heat, which increases the alkalinity of 
the blood, and the amount of uric acid it will contain. Bad air 
and deficient oxygen may act by increasing the alkalinity of the 
blood, as 1 have pointed out that deficient oxidation probably pro- 
duces a uricacidasmia in this way, hence the headache of badly 
ventilated theatres, or hot crowded rooms.” (Haig). 
One of the best evidences that uric acid is the cause of 
asthma in the majority of cases, in my judgment, is that iodide of 6 
ASTHMA CURED BY ALKALITHIA. 
potassium has given us the best results, as a curative treatment, 
of any other drug until recently. Dr. Haig says it is interesting 
to find that iodide of potassium and the iodides relax the arterioles 
and cause lower arterial tension, which they are well known to do, 
by clearing the blood of uric acid, and l have been able to show 
(Chapter 111 of his work) that the fall of arterial tension and the 
diuresis they produce is exactly contemporaneous with a very 
marked fall in the excretion of uric acid, and as every drug which 
produces a similar fall in the excretion of uric acid produces also 
a similar fall of arterial tension and a diuresis, 1 have felt no hesi- 
tation in attributing these effects of the iodides to their action in 
increasing the solubility of uric acid in the blood. The iodides 
then probably relieve asthma by clearing the blood of uric acid 
and so reducing arterial tension. These facts leave in my mind 
no practical doubt whatever but that asthma is generally the 
result of the action of contracted arterioles, and the high arterial 
tension on the thoracic circulation. 
Dr. Haig, in his chapter on gout, says that he attributes the 
good results of the salicylates, alkalies and colchicum to their 
alkalinity. 
Hence the good results with Alkalithia (as the following cases 
will demonstrate), which is a happy combination of our most 
reliable alkalies, to wit: lithia, potash and soda, with the 
addition of that most excellent heart tonic, diuretic and relaxant 
of the arterioles, caffeine, which helps to eliminate the uric acid 
by the kidneys and other excretory organs, while the alkalies 
hold it in solution in the blood. 
Now, in this connection, just a word as to prophylactic treat- 
ment of asthma, and with the condensed reports of ten cases 
treated by some of the best physicians in Texas, I will close. 
Dr. Haig has shown very clearly in his work on “ uric acid as a 
cause of disease,” that a meat diet and the wines and malt 
liquors will increase uric acid in the system, hence the import- 
ance of placing the patient on a milk and vegetable diet, after 
clearing the blood of uric acid with this powerful alkaline combi- 
nation called “ Alkalithia.” It matters not whether the patient is 
an asthmatic, rheumatic, epileptic or has gout or any other disease 
caused by uric acid. The Alkalithia should be given in teaspoon- 
ful doses three or four times a day, and kept up as long as the 
urine shows uric acid by the microscopic or any other test. ASTHMA CURED BY ALKALITHIA. 
7 
Case I. 
“ 1 tried Alkalithia on one case with benefit, I think, for she has been free 
from her attacks since using it a few months ago.” 
ST. CLOUD COOPER, M. D., 
Jefferson, Texas. 
Case II. 
“ Mrs. C. had been suffering with asthma for weeks and 1 prescribed the 
usual remedies without any relief whatever. When you called my attention to 
uric acid as a probable cause and recommended Alkalithia, 1 prescribed it for 
Mrs. C. and, to my surprise, a few doses not only relieved, but cured her.” 
R. T. SCOTT, M. D., 
Houston, Texas. 
Case III. 
“ Mrs. C. has suffered five or six years with asthma. I have been called 
every 4 or 6 weeks to treat her. January 18th I was last called and prescribed 
Alkalithia and she has had no return of asthma since, being the longest time 
she has been free for several years.” 
Chas. t. Young, m. d., 
Waco, Texas. 
Case IV 
“ Mrs. J., a great sufferer for years with asthma, has been using Alkalithia 
two weeks only and has been greatly improved in this short time. She tells 
me that since beginning with the Alkalithia she has not had a single ‘ chok- 
ing spell,’ and that she has not been free from them so long in some years.” 
S. D. Naylor, M. D., 
Stephenville, Texas. 
Case V. 
“ I treated a middle-aged lady twelve years ago fora bad attack of asthma 
of long standing, and she had no return until two years ago, and then only 
slightly. 1 gave her sod. salicyl and tr. lobelia. 
“ My last case was a man of 25 years. Put him on Salicylate Soda, 
Antipyrine and Tincture of Belladonna and he has had no attack for three or 
four months now. This case did not have Alkalithia, but was treated on an 
alkali basis and it proved successful. My object is to show that the case was 
due to uric acid and an alkali relieved the patient.” 
S. A. NUNN, M. D., 
Belton, Texas. 8 
ASTHMA CURED BY ALKALITHIA. 
Case VI. 
“ 1 was suffering with asthma and emphysema of left lung when I saw you 
at Dallas. I have been a slave to this disease for 50 years and never suffered 
more than in this attack. I used two bottles of Alkalithia and it gave me more 
relief than any medicine 1 ever used.” 
D. W. MOMAND, M. D., 
Dallas, Texas. 
Case VII. 
“The trial 1 have made with Alkalithia as a remedy in asthma has not 
been very satisfactory. No benefit has resulted from its use in my patient.” 
W. R. BLAILOCK, M. D., 
McGregor, Texas. 
Case VIII. 
“ I put my patient on Alkalithia 25 days since and have given two full 
bottles, besides several sample bottles, following the directions closely. Up to 
date have received no beneficial results. However, it is the worst case of 
asthma 1 ever treated, and has had one continuous attack since December 15th 
last.” p. M. Kuykendall, m. d., 
Moody, Texas. 
I report these cases in order to have both sides fairly represented and to 
call attention to the fact that some cases are due to other causes and will not 
be benefited by Alkalithia. In the latter correspondence I do not doubt that 
some surgical treatment is necessary in the nose, as very likely a polyp or 
hypertrophied bone or spur or other nasal irritation keeps up the disease. 
Office, Waco, Texas, 27 Provident Building. 
My Dear Dr. Hunter:— In answer to your polite request, and responsive to 
the great interest you have manifested in the action of Alkalithia, I take plea- 
sure in adding my testimony to the salutary action in two cases. The one of 
asthma complicated with rheumatism, of long standing. The patient, Mr. 
Warren, has reported great relief from the Alkalithia, more so than from any 
other remedy tried, and believes it to be a permanent cure. 
The second case is one of asthmatic trouble for many years, now feeling 
better on Alkalithia, and having more hope of permanent cure than from any- 
thing tried heretofore. The time is too short to speak more fully, or positively, 
but 1 have faith in the theory you suggest, and am hopeful of the demonstra- 
tion which further trial of Alkalithia will give. 
With great respect I am, Yours, 
H. W. BROWN, M. D. 
NOTE :—Physicians interested in the subject of asthma and its cure by 
Alkalithia, will please report their cases to me at Dallas, Texas, that I may 
tabulate them and greatly oblige, Yours Respectfully, 
J. W. HUNTER, M. D. 
Dallas, Texas. 
Cases IX and X.