The urine of 50 nurslings between the age of 1 day and 4 weeks examined. This number included 24 healthy chil dren, 1 premature child, 1 case of hy drocephalus, 14 cases of acute and chronic gastro-enteritis, and 10 cases of other forms of dyspepsia. Among the 50 cases the urine of 10 causecl a reduc tion of Trommer's test with cupric sul phate. In 2 cases the results were con firmed by observations made with tbe polarimeter. These 10 cases included 7 of aggravated gastro-enteritis which terminated fatally, and 3 of mild dys pepsia. Grosz (Pester Med.-Chirurgische Presse, No. 37, '92).
It appears upon a study of 108 cases of infantile diabetes that children of both sexes seem to be affected in an equal proportion, and that the disease is most frequently observed about tbe ag,e of 5 years. As a cause, traumatism was found in 11 cases; dentition, chill, excesses of various kinds, rapid growth, insufficient food, violent emotion, or sor row in others. Wegeli (Archly f. Kin derb., 19, II. 1, '95).
The disease is exceedingly fatal in young children. Whenever a child is brought to the physician with a rapid atrophy he should examine the urine for sugar. II. D. Chapin (Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc., Sept. 15, 1900).
Men are much more likely to be at tacked by diabetes than women. In childhood sex has no influence.
Out of 1004 cases of diabetes, 837— or 83.37 per cent.—were males, and 167 --or 16.63 per cent.—were females. A. Cantani (Dent. med. Woch., Nos. 12 to 14, 'S9).
The proportion of males and females in the white racc who surfer from dia betes is, about :3 to 2. In children, how ever, the ratio is not the same; girls have it more frequently than boys. In the colored race the eases occur more frequently in women than in men.
Futeher (Johns Hopkins Hosp. Bull., Feb., '9S).
The frequency of diabetes varies very much in different countries.
ln Danish cities the mortality from this disease has almost quadrupled itself during the last thirty years. In Paris, between the years of 1865 and 1373, only 2 to 3 in each 100,000 died annually from diabetes. By 1892 the numbers had risen to 1.3 in 100,000. The disease is exceedingly counnon in India, in Rus sia it is very uncommon, and in Nor mandy it is wide-spread. Lepine (Rev. de Mild., In the absence of sufficiently-reliable statistics, it is preferable to abstain from giving any figures. In. the same country
different races are very unequally af fected, and on this poiiat, also, it is neces sary to await further researches. A fact which may be positively stated at pres ent is the relative frequency of diabetes in the Jewish race.
ln Frankfort-on-the-Main 171 persons died from diabetes during a period of nineteen years. Of 156 of these cases, 51 were Jews and 105 belonged to other denominations. The mortality from dia betes is six times as great among Jews as in other religions. -Wallach (Dent. med. Woch., Aug. 10, '93).
Two hundred and two deaths from dia betes in the city of New York during 1899 shows that the greatest mortality occurred between the fifty-fifth and sixty fifth years, and diminished rapidly toward the end and beginning of life. Fifty seven were born in Germany, 51 in United States, and 37 in Ireland. At least 54, or 25 per cent., were Jews and 51 were Irish. The potent influence is believed to be the breeding in and in, to which the Jewish and Irish races still adhere. Coma was direct cause of death in 60 eases. Gangrene WilS tbe most fre quent complication, and appeared in the foot or leg in 32 eases. H. Stern (Med. Record, NON'. 17, 1900).
DiabeteS is frequently hereditary, inas much as several members of one and the same family are frequently affected with the disease; but the heredity is seldom direct.
The diabetic predisposition is heredi tary. In 99S cases out of 2115 it was dis covered positively that there were, or had been, 1 or 2 cases of diabetes among their blood-relations, and in some cases more. Schmitz (Berliner klin. Woch., July 6, '91).
It has been justly remarked that these diabetic families are tainted with the uric-acid diathesis, and that obesity, gout, and neuropathic affections exist in extra ordinary frequency in such families. Frequently obesity and diabetes co-exist in the same person. A too exclusively starchy diet and the abuse of wine and ciders are predisposing causes of dia betes.
In the canton of Zurich diabetes is rather rare, but 23 cases being recorded among 33,424 dead of all causes in a space of five years. The disease seems to be somewhat more frequent in the poorer classes, 6 cases out of 1000 dis pensary patients being met with. Leva (Deutsehes Archiv f. klin. Med., B. 36, II. 1, 2, '91).