THE FUTURE OUTLOOK
J. F. JOHNSON Editor & Publisher
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Dr. Hightower's View
On Epilepsy
Dr. James P. Hightower, practicing physician of Wins
ton-Salem, recently addressed the Psychology Class in
Adolescent Psychology at A&T State University.
The occasion was his contribution to the class study of
nervous diseases associated with the adolescent. The talk
was a brief synopsis and treatise on the current trends of
recognition, treatment, and care of the epileptic.
Said Dr. Hightower:
Epilepsy is a recurrent disturbance in the chemi
coelectrical activity of the brain. It manifests itself in an
aggregate of symptoms, these being: impairment of con
sciousness, perturbation of the automatic nervous system,
convulsive behavior, and psychic disorders. It is clinicaly
recognized by diagnosis with the electroencephalogram
showing brain waves (spikes). Advances in chemotherapy
has reduced the recurrence of the severity and frequency
of seizures.
A psychogenic form of epilepsy carries with it certain
form of clinical behavior such as migraine, fainting, and
psychosis. In Dr. Hightower's study, he stated that five
per 1,000 of the general population suffer from epilepsy.
Most epileptics remain out of the hospital. Many persons
who suffer from this disease lead a useful life and engage
in various forms of livelihoods such as art, business, and
industry. Such eminent figures as Julius Caesar, Lord By
ron, and Peter the Great are known to have suffered from
the disease, and for that reason, according to ancient
customs, it was considered a 'sacred disease." There are
more males reported than females, however, there is no
sexual difference in the disease. Most seizures occur in the
first 2 years of life and during adolescence.
Dr. Hightower further stated in his investigation
that:
CAUSATION. Epilepsy is classified according to the
factors causing it to occur such as idiopathic, or essential
epilepsy (not induced by any other ailment) , postnatal in
juries (head) , toxic states, brain tumors, and psychogenic
epilepsy. Summed up one might say heriditary factors,
environmental or biological factors, and psychological fac
tors are the causative ones.
Epilepsy may occur in such mild forms that the in
dividual may not realize he is under an attack. Forms of
seizures are : Grand Mai, petit mal, and psychic-equivalent
(psychomotor). About 90% of patient^ have grand mal
seizures; 50% have grand mal only; 8% have petit mal;
1% suffer psychic-equivalent or psychomotor.
GRAND MAL SEIZURE. After a warning call aura
which may be physical discomfort ; or numbness of fin
gers or extremities (convulsion) with loss of conscious
ness. The initial phase of rigidity is known as the tonic
phase, gives way to one of jerky muscular reactions (clon
ic phase) . Tongue biting and evacuation of the bowls may
occur. Time : only a few minutes ? after that consciousness
is regained gradually. In severe cases headaches, nausea,
and depression.
PETIT-MAL SEIZURE. The only symptom is fleets
ing loss of consciousness lasting from a few seconds to
one minute. Sometimes there Is a minor facial twitching.
This class of seizure doesn't produce mental confusion and
may occur frequently during the day.
PSYCHIC-EQUIVALENT (PSYCHOMOTOR). Loss
of consciousness; one carries out purposeful acts; even
may take or commit criminal act: a destructive form;
complete amnesia for the duration of the seizure.
MENTAL RETARDATION and DETERIORATION.
66 to 90 is the I. Q. of the average epileptic. Of a group of
more than 1,600 clinical cases studied with epilepsy, 67%
were classified as mentally normal; 28% slightly below
normal; and 10% mentally retarded. Among the greater
number of enilentics mental deterioration does not exist.
TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY. Psychotherapy should
be employed to aid the patient In understanding his ill
ness stated Dr. Hightower. Arrange for envlromental fac
tors to minimize effects of seizures. The principle treat
This Weed's Sunday School Lesson
THE RESURRECTION AND ]
TIIE SPIRIT
Prepare for your lesson by
reading the following Bible pas
sages clay by day In the preced
ing week.
Monday: Acts 3:12-16; an an
cient sermon.
Tuesday: Acts 4:24-31; the
power of the Spirit.
Wednesday: Acts 10:44-48; the
Spirit comes to the Gentiles.
Thursday: Acts 11:19-26; per
secution expands the church.
Friday: Acts 12:1-11; God de
livers from oppression.
Saturday: Acts 15:6-11; the
good news for all.
Sunday: Acts 20:28-35; Paul's
prayer for the church.
The only portion of the New
Testament that sets forth the be
ginning of the Christian church
in a more or less systematic way
is the Book of Acts. As its open
ing lines indicate, it is the sec
ond part of a two-volume work
written by the author of the Gos
pel of Luke. He intended to trace
the progress of the gospel from
Jerusalem to Rome.
Although his second volume
includes much valuable and ac
curate information concerning
the age of the apostles, Acts is
both too limited in scope and too
strongly theological in intention
to serve as a fully satisfactory
historical source. We are grate
ful for what Luke has included
in the Book of Acts, even though
we might wish fuller informa
tion.
The fundamental conviction on
which the Book of Acts? and in
deed the whole of the Christian
church ? rests is that God raised
Jesus from the dead. That is the
theme of Peter's sermon in Acts
2 (especially verses 22-36), of
his sermon in the temple courts
(Acts 3:13-15), of his sermon in
the house of Cornelius (Acts
10:40), as well as of Paul's serm
ons in Acts 13, 17, and 23. The
resurrection of Jesus does not
stand as an isolated event; it is
understood as part of a larger
complex of meanings.
The resurrection of Jesus pro
vided a way of understanding
the cross, which in itself would
have been no more than the
tragic end to a promising young
man. In the li^it of the Resur
rection, the cross came to be
seen as God's act of redemptive
love in behalf of the human race.
In the seeming tragedy of the
Crucifixion, God came to man in
the depth of suffering and death,
there to disclose his love to man. (
The barrier of guilt that separat- ;
ed man from God was overcome
by suffering love. Luke tells us j
that on the cross Jesus cried out,
"Father, forgive them; for they
know not what they do" (Luke
23:34). In the mind of Paul, the
death of Jesus was God's sacri
ficial means of removing sin as
an obstacle to man's communion
with him (Romans 3:25). Else
where Paul regards the cross as
a cosmic battle in which the pow
ers of evil do their worst and
are overcome (Colossians 2:13
15).
1. Commissioning of Witnesses
The author of Acts seems to
consider the Resurrection to
have been God's defense and up
holding of One who was rejected
by Israel. God acted so that
death and Hades could not hold
Jesus, but brought him victori
ously from the grave. The ap
pearances of Jesus to the disciples
are to be regarded as the com
missioning of witnesses, so that
the truth of the Resurrection
can be proclaimed (Acts 3:15;
10:41. 42: 13:31). Jesus did not
| appear +i the public risen from
the dead, but only to those chos
| en by God to be his witnesses,
I so that they might testify to
what God had done in Christ for
man's redemption.
Luke alone describes the res
urrection appearances as ending
in the Ascension (Luke 24:51;
Acts 1:9). This account was prob
ably introduced for at least two
reasons. (1) To show that the
appearances would not be con
tinued indefinitely. Thus anyone
in the early church who claimed
to have been given a special
commission by God through a
vision of the Risen Christ could
be told that the commissioning
appearances had ended with the
Ascension. (2) The Ascension |
served as a way of explaining
why Christ was visibly absent
from his church, while at the
same time claiming that he was
even now enthroned in power
at the right hand of God. There
he will remain until the church
age is over and the new age be
gins. At that time he will re
appear in the same manner as
he disappeared in the Ascension
(Acts 1:11).
2. Exaltation as Lord and
Messiah
But the Resurrection means
more for Acts and for the early
church than accounting for the
absence of its Lord. Acts 2:36
ments are of medical nature. Drugs used are dilantin,
phenabarbital, and mesantoin. These reduce or eliminate
seizures in 90% of the cases. Medication must be used
throughout life of the patient. Producing a state of aci
dosis or dehydration within the body can reduce the seiz
ures. Some say that electric shocks can reduce the attacks,
however, there is only a history of one case on records.
Reports on psychotherapy have been meager and the pro
gnosis is very uncertain but not fatal. Foods such as those
of ketogenic kinds (producing fat) ; no salt are generally
recommended for the diet.
Dr. Hightower studied at Butler University of In
dianapolis, Indiana; Indiana University df Bloomington,
Indiana; and the Indiana Medical Center of Indianapolis.
He enrolled in the Lincoln College of Naturopathic-Medi
cine and was graduated with B.S. degree (1944) with a
group major in medicine, Doctors degree in Physical Med
icine and the (Hon.) D. Sc. He has done advanced study at
the North Carolina A&T University in the field of Psy
chology. He holds membership in the American Associa
tion of Medico-Physlcal-Research of Chicago, HI. In his
practice, special attention is given to mental, nervous, and
chronic diseases. He has been associated with the Forsyth
County Mental Health Association and has practiced in
Winston-Salem since 1949.
makes it clear that the resurrec
tion o f Christ was his exaltation
as Lord and Messiah. On earth
he was known only in lowliness
and humiliation; he now is
known as the ose declared by
God to be Lord. The same point
of view is expressed in the fa
miliar hymn-like words of Phil
ippians 2:5-11:
Christ Jesus, who, though he was
in the form of God,
did not count equality with
God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, taking the
form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of
men.
And being found in human form
he humbled himself
and became obedient unto
death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalt
him and bestowed on him
the name which is above
every name,
that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, ,
in heaven and on earth and
under the earth.
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
The exaltation of Jesus actual
ly takes place at the same time
of the Resurrection. It is God's
way of defending Jesus and of
proclaiming him as Lord. The
Gospel of John takes a similar
position, in that the "lifting up"
of Jesus on the cross is at the
same time of his exaltation.
3. Judge of All Men
Elsewhere in Acts, the author
reports that the Resurrection was
to be understood as the act of
God by which Jesus was an
nounced to be the coming judge
of all men (10:42). In the sermon
attributed to Paul in Athens (17:
22-31), the point is that God has
appointed Jesus as the judge or
standard of judgment for the
world. God made certain of this
designation of Jesus as judge by
raising him from the dead (17:
31).
Paul and John develop more
fully the link between the resur
rection of Jesus and the resur
rection hope of the believer. This
is stated in its fullest form in
Tirst Corinthians 15, but it per
meates the other letters of Paul
as well. John implies it in such
passages as John 11:25-26:
"I am the resurrection and the
life; he who believes in me,
though he died, yet shall he
live, and whoever lives and
believes in me shall never die."
John seems to be saying that
not only will the believer par
ticipate in the general resurrec
tion in the end time, but that he
also shares now in the present
age in the new life which will be
fully his in the age to come.
4. Coming of The Spirit
For Acts and the early church,
one of the most important con
sequences of the resurrection of
Jesus was the coming of the
Spirit. John 16:7 reports Jesus as
telling the disciples that it is to
their advantage that he Is going
away, since now the Spirit will
come upon them. Paul speaks of
their possession of the Spirit as
the earnest of their redetnption
(2 Corinthians 5:5). The presence
and power of the Spirit within
them Is a kind of down payment
on the full redemption that they
will receive in the age to come.
Since we discussed in the lesson
for February 26 the way John
(Continued on Pag* 8)