https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ssd?id=uc1.31378008338645;page=ssd;view=plaintext;seq=78;num=64

OBSERVATION II. - Mr. Luigi Vinci, from Naples, retired from the Italian army, 46 years old, entered the Clinic on March 9, 1870. Sick for an indefinite time, following the abuse of flour: four months before entering the Clinic, the urinalysis had recognized diabetes, accused also by extreme weakness, thinness, ardent thirst, excessive polyuria: several weeks before entering the Clinic he had decided, on the advice of Dr. Fienga, to submit to the exclusive meat diet, which greatly improved several symptoms, including polyuria and thirst; but he did not feel able to continue the diet. We wanted to add to this observation, and to several others, the chromolithographic tables which accompany them in the Italian edition, and which establish, day by day, the quantity of urine, its density, the quantity. amount of sugar, temperature of the patient, number of pulsations, etc. Material execution difficulties were opposed. (Translator's note.)

On March 10 he emitted 2900 cc of urine: specific gravity 1031; 229 gr. of sugar within twenty-four hours. The same day, the patient was put on a meat diet: on March 12, after having eaten only meat, if not every day, at lunch, where he had taken coffee with milk with a little bread, we had 1755 CC of urine, specific gravity 1033; 83 gr. of sugar per liter, 142 gr. within twenty-four hours. 

Subjected then to all the rigor of the cure, the sugar decreased quickly and went down to 66 gr. per day, then to 4267.5 to go back up to 64, and back down to 23, then to 28, to 25, to 20, to 8, to 11, to 4 and finally to zero. On March 26 the sugar completely disappeared, but an acute catarrh of the stomach and intestines with vomiting forced us to modify the diet, and the sugar reappeared: finally, the helping lactic acid, the catarrh was defeated, the meat diet resumed on March 29, the sugar fell on March 31 to 23 gr., then to 15, 12, 4, and finally on April 6 it disappeared again and this time not to reappear. It is interesting to note that in this case the constant disappearance of sugar took place only after refusing the patient even limes, vinegar, eggs, butter, wine, liver oil from cod, and even the chops, when we noticed that the cook was putting a little breading on it. In short, the glycosuria ceased completely after 27 days of treatment: it would have ceased earlier with more rigorous treatment from the first day, and without the intervention of intestinal catarrh. Upon entry, this patient weighed 48k11.7, in six weeks he reached 54 kilog. Out of the hospital on April 26, he continued the cure for a month, then resumed eating everything. I saw him again a year later, he told me he had gained another 12 kilog. since leaving the Clinic, which would total nearly 18 kilog. Note that with Grosso as with the captain, we only saw the fat accumulate when the patients were able to eat everything: with the meat diet, they increased in weight, up to a certain point, but a more complete diet was needed to gain weight quickly. This increase in weight is undoubtedly very important in judging the effects of a treatment on the material renewal of certain individuals: with it end all the doubts as to the efficacy of the treatment, and also as to its reason for. be. Before treatment, suddenly at 37 ° normal, under the influence of acute gastroenteric catarrh. He also presented a large quantity of urea in his urine, and this quantity increased in proportion to the meat eaten: this proves that he burned in great abundance the albuminates introduced, using them for physiological combustion. From this fact that it burned the albumin in excess, while it did not burn the sugar, we must conclude that there is a displacement of organic combustion, a displacement which aims to maintain the temperature at a degree compatible with the conservation. - elevation of life, although lower than that of health. We also understand why the forces return, as well as the flesh and fat, when we have introduced a much larger quantity of albumin, and therefore sufficient for the needs of combustion, respiration and thermogenesis. M. Vinci was in good health until October 1871; however, he ate, and even to the point of abuse, flour and even candy; he himself admitted it, but he pleaded his mediocre financial resources. I learned later that further abuse of the hay feed made him ill again, that he had not received any treatment, and that he had died in January 1872 of a subsequent phthisis, before some, pneumonia according to others.