Friedreich's ataxia: a report on two cases

Abstract

In an out-of-the-way part of the Country, such as the small group of islands constituting the County of Orkney, in which my practice lies, one does not readily light upon a subject suitable for a Thesis.The majority of cases with which one is called upon to deal are commonplace, though they might furnish scope for investigation if one were in constant contact with Hospital, laboratory and Library.All these aids to study are lacking in these islands and one has to depend for books and medical literature on the British Medical Association's Library in London.It was therefore of great interest to me to find that in one of the islands under my medical charge there was a family in which were cases of Friedreich's Ataxia. My interest did not seem to be shared by any of the medical men whom I met from time to time in Orkney.The condition is rare and unknown to most general» :practitioners except as a name recalling student days.No case of Friedreich's Ataxia has hitherto been reported from Orkney and, at the suggestion of a medical friend to whom I mentioned the subject, I decided to study the cases more fully with a view to writing a Thesis.