Waldo E. Nelson

Symposium on adolescence: Introduction

I F ON~ thinks of adolescence in terms of an explosive phenomenon or, for those perhaps more aesthetically inclined, as the unfolding of the flower from the bud to the full bloom, then one sets out to determine the ranges of normalcy: the time of detonation, too early or too late; the strength of the reaction, too weak or too violent; and the appropriateness of the environment, too much or too little of many variables. As in other age groups, physical health during the adolescent period, as measured by the incidence of serious morbidity and by mortality rates, has been greatly improved in recent years. This general improvement does not lessen the need, however, for more thorough investigation of the patterns of disease in the adolescent and of their effects on his development. As is the case in in-

Myasthenia gravis in a child: Observations on the effect of epherine therapy

Summary 1. A case of myasthenia gravis in a girl, eleven years old, is reported. 2. Marked and rapid improvement in muscular strength was noted after the administration of ephedrine. 3. Neither improvement nor prevention of loss of muscular power was noted after twenty-three days of glycine therapy.