[Magdalen] For those of us US'ers (& maybe even Canadians)...

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/29/2016 7:11:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
oppenheimerjw at gmail.com writes:

She had  a desire to make music, and her hearing and pitch were not so good
later in  life, partly due to untreated syphilis. By the time antibiotics
were  available, the disease had advanced to the tertiary stage, which is
not  responsive to antibiotics.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Actually, there was a moderately effective treatment for syphilis 
widely available by 1910.  Salvarsan ("606") or arsphenamine was 
synthesized in Paul Erlich's lab in the Frankfurt/M, Germany area
for syphilis.  Naturally the earlier the treatment, the better.   It's
really all we had until antibiotics entered the scene in the mid-
19th century.  In any case, even antibiotics cannot erase the
permanent damage of the later stages of syphilis.
 
The Salvarsan was manufactured by Hoechst AG in the Frankfurt/M
suburb of Hoechst/M, a charming city with a medieval core
chuck full of half-timbered buildings.
 
Paul Erlich, one of the most famous names in dermatology
(many of the manifestations of syphilis are in the skin) is
interned in the Frankfurt/M Jewish Cemetery not far from our
apartment in that City.  The Nazi defilement of the cemetery 
has been fortunately cleaned up.
 
 
 
David S.