These patients failed to respond to penicillin so were treated with fever therapy. We took blood from a patient with active malaria and injected it intravenously into patients with CNS syphilis. After a certain number of hours of fever, the patient was given atabrine, a synthetic quinine substitute. The Austrian physician who developed fever therapy for CNS syphilis, Dr. Julius Wagner-Jauregg, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1927 for this discovery.

To get back to Tuskegee, after penicillin was introduced, it was quickly learned that patients with syphilitic aortitis who were treated with penicillin frequently experienced rupture of the ascending aorta—with fatal results. It was not learned until several years later that pretreatment with oral potassium iodide prevented this fatal reaction. At that time, the Tuskegee researchers had to assume that treatment with penicillin was worse than the disease. So withholding treatment from the participants in the study was not evil but was probably indicated at that time. I hope this sets the record straight.

Richard L. Dobson, M.D.
Housestaff '54-57
Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

We appreciate this information but stand by our assessment of the Tuskegee study, which was based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website; it calls the Tuskegee study, which ran from 1932 to 1972, "an example of medical research gone wrong. The United States Public Health Service, in trying to learn more about syphilis and justify treatment programs for blacks, withheld adequate treatment from a group of poor black men who had the disease."

Effects of influenza
I enjoyed the article in your Winter 2006 issue on the 1918 flu epidemic and its effects at Dartmouth ("Cold Comfort").

A few months after seeing a PBS feature on the Spanish influenza, I was poking around the antique cemetery in West Norwich, Vt., scavenging for the lore that occasionally turns up under the lichen on old stones. Revolutionary and Civil War remembrances are always of interest, but a flag on a more modern headstone also got my attention. It was the grave of Curtis M. Parkhurst, age 28, who died at Camp Devens in Ayer, Mass., on February 20, 1918, undoubtedly of the flu. The event was then far more immediate to me than it had been on television.

Parkhurst is a familiar name at Dartmouth, the main administration building having been given by Trustee Lewis Parkhurst in 1911 in memory of a son who died while an undergraduate. Could they have been tragic brothers, I wonder?

Perhaps, although the name was not uncommon in the Upper Valley. Phineas Parkhurst of Royalton, Vt., was shot by an Indian in a British-led attack on Royalton in 1780. He survived, however, after riding 20 miles to Lebanon for treatment.

Dick Mackay
Hanover, N.H.

Remembering Harold Rugg
I was intrigued by Laura Carter's article on the influenza epidemic of 1918—as it was chronicled at Dartmouth by, among others, Harold Rugg, a librarian at the College's Baker Library. Having done some historical research myself, I can appreciate the digging she must have done in researching the subject.

It was a special delight for me to see Harold Rugg's familiar face, looking more cheerful than I could recall. Nearly 25 years after the epidemic, I worked for him while I was an undergraduate—doing gardening and helping him sort his extensive collection of papers on matters

concerning Vermont, his special area of interest.

The piece brought back lots of old and cherished memories. Thanks for doing such a good job. (The whole issue was a winner!)

Timothy Takaro, M.D.,
DC '41, DMS '42
Asheville, N.C.

Happy campers
I just read the article in your Summer 2006 issue about Camp Dartmouth-Hitchcock, for children with chronic rheumatologic conditions ("A summer camp that offers more than s'mores"). My son attended the camp last year, and it was the best experience he ever had. He is really looking forward to going again this year. His teacher has a daughter with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and she is looking forward to going as well.

We usually can't let our son go away due to his medications and pain, so letting him go to this camp, where he can experience what other kids his age do, without worrying about his care, has been such a tremendous relief. Thanks so much to DHMC and all the volunteers for this truly wonderful camp.

Deadra Dunbar
Champlain, N.Y.

Grateful patient
I just came across the article in your Fall 2004 issue on Brian Highhouse ("DHMC oncology nurse hits the high road"). He was one of my husband's and my heroes at DHMC last year. My husband participated in several research protocols that gave him hope, a chance to help scientific research so others have a better opportunity to live in the future, and an opportunity to meet people like Brian Highhouse. He is a gem in your midst. All the people we encountered gave us more than we could ever imagine. DHMC should be so proud.

Lucille McClure
Essex Junction, Vt.