Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 September 1891 — ACROMEGALY KILLED HIM. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ACROMEGALY KILLED HIM.

Che Mysterious Malady That Carried ofl Francisco Solferne. Francisco Solferne; the Italian fruitdealer whose disease baffled the skill Of the medlcei fraternity, died at the Almshouse, says the San Francisco Examiner. Solferne was admitted to the Almshouse in June, and the disease which ended his life is called acromegaly. It causes an enlargement of all the bones-of the body. About all the physicians could do was to study the malady, which, slowly but painlessly sapped the life of the victim. It is known that the cancellous tissue ol the bones becomes hypertrofied, causing the extremeties to become enormously enlarged, and not much more can be told by the physicians. Dr. Bunker tried every known remedy for kindred ailments, but not the

slightest advantage was gained to arrest the progress of the disease, which is almost unknown to science. ' When Solferne applied for admission to the almshouse he presented a hideous spectacle. His head was enlarged to nearly the length of that of a horse’s. The forehead was high and broad and the frontal bone projected far beyond the eyes. The nasal bone had grown to the else of a banana, and his ears could Scarcely be covered by an ordinary-sized hand. His whole body was affected in a similar manner, his hands being of such an enormous size that one could easily cover the surface of a ham, and his feet were as large as a fivegallon beer keg, with toes grown to the proportions of a man’s fist. The knee Joints were about as large as his legs at the thighs, and from the waist up his body had the circumference of the bodies of two 200-pound men, his ribs having grown out of all proportion. About a month ago Solferne took to his bed, lost his former cheerfulness, refused to converse with any one, became very irritable, and finally relapsed Into a lethargic state, from which he could be aroused with difficulty when it was necessary fir him to take food. Solferne said that the disease first attacked him when he was-about 20 years old, but thinking it was some ordinary trouble, paid no attention to it. But as time passed his extremities grew larger rapidly. Medical advice was of no value, and nothing could be done to save him. The body was burled In the potter’s field. Some of the physicians talk of resurrecting it and making a thorough and systematic investigation of the cause of the disease.

SOLFERNE A MONTH PRIOR TO HIS DEATH.