Leslie Keeley

Leslie Keeley

Leslie Keeley (1836-1900) was an American physician, originator of the Keeley Cure.

Born in St. Lawrence County, N.Y., Keeley graduated at the Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1863, and later entered the Union Army as a surgeon. At the end of the war he moved to Dwight, Ill., where he began his private medical practice. There, in 1880, he opened a sanatorium for persons addicted to the immoderate use of alcohol and opium. He assserted that "Alcoholism is a disease and I can cure it." His treatment centered on a secret preparation that he said contained bichloride of gold. However, chemical analysis revealed that the proprietary tonic contained 27.55% alcohol pplus muriate of ammonia, aloin and tincture of cinchonaa but no gold or chlorides. His hypodermic injections contained sulphate of strychnine, atropine and boracic acid. [The Keeley 'gold cure' for inebriety, British Medical Journal, July 9, 1892, 86-86] [ James Roosevelt, In Sickness and Health. Appleton, 1896, page 79]

In 1890, Keeley began selling franchises and by 1993 there were 92 Keeley Institutes in the US, Canada, and Mexico [http://www.lib.unb.ca/archives/finding/keeley.html] and that number grew to over 200 and expanded to Europe. [ http://http://www.www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/keeley_cure.html]

In 1939, Time magazine reported that "Unvarying is the traditional Keeley routine. An incoming inebriate pays $160, plus room and board, must stay for 31 days. His weekly whiskey ration is gradually tapered off: eight ounces the first day, six ouinces the second, four ounces the third, none from there on. Four times a day he gets gold chloride injections; every two houirs he takes a tonic." [Keeley cure, Time, September 25, 1939] At its height, the clinic in Dwight treated 700 patients per day. [ If Dr. Keeley Could See You Now, Wall Street Journal, December 31, 2007, p. B1]

Keeley claimed that when his medicine was administered according to his directions, it had no injurious effects and that 95 per cent of the patients were permanently cured. If they did return to drinking, he insisted that they were cured but that they drank because they choose to do so, not because they were still addicted. [ If Dr. Keeley Could See You Now, Wall Street Journal, December 31, 2007, p. B1]

Keeley published numerous articles in the popular press in addition to pamphlets promoting his therapy, and wrote and wrote "The Morphine Eater, or From Bondage to Freedom" (1881)and the Non-Heredity of Inebriety (1896).

The Keeley Institute in Dwight was the last to close, doing so in 1966. [ Jared Lobdell, the Strange Sickness, 2004, page 51] Despite the modern assumption that Keeley's therapy was merely a successful example of quackery, Keeley is remembered as one of the first to treat alcoholism as a medical problem. [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/keeley_cure.html]

:"Keeley cure" - a proprietary method of treatment for the alcohol and opium habits by means of gold chloride. (The American Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 1938 edition.)
*


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Keeley Institute — The Keeley Institute, known for its Keeley Cure, was a commercial medical operation that offered treatment to alcoholics from 1879 to 1965. Though at one time there were more than 200 branches in the United States and Europe, the original… …   Wikipedia

  • Keeley — Infobox Given Name Revised name = Keeley imagesize= caption= pronunciation= gender = meaning = region = origin = related names = footnotes = Keeley may refer to:People with the surname Keeley: *Barbara Keeley (contemporary), British Labour party… …   Wikipedia

  • Keeley cure — Kee·ley cure kē lē n a method of treatment for alcoholism that was formerly used Keeley Leslie E. (1832 1900) American physician. Keeley is remembered for implementing a kind of institutional care as a treatment method for chronic alcoholism and… …   Medical dictionary

  • Keeley — /kee lee/, n. Leslie Enraught /en rawt/, 1834 1900, U.S. physician. * * * …   Universalium

  • Keeley — /kee lee/, n. Leslie Enraught /en rawt/, 1834 1900, U.S. physician …   Useful english dictionary

  • Chris Leslie (politician) — Christopher Leslie Member of Parliament for Nottingham East Incumbent Assumed office 6 May 2010 Preceded by John Heppell Majority 6,969 (21%) …   Wikipedia

  • John R. Oughton House — Infobox nrhp name = John R. Oughton House nrhp type = caption = The front facade of the John R. Oughton House location = Dwight, Livingston County, Illinois, USA nearest city = lat degrees = lat minutes = lat seconds = lat direction = N long… …   Wikipedia

  • Dwight, Illinois — Coordinates: 41°5′35″N 88°25′38″W / 41.09306°N 88.42722°W / 41.09306; 88.42722 …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from Illinois — This is a list of people whose career was all or part in Illinois; people are not included if they left the state before beginning a career.A* Jane Addams, social work * George Ade, author * Dankmar Adler, architect * Nelson Algren, author * John …   Wikipedia

  • History of Illinois — US state Name = Illinois Fullname = State of Illinois Flaglink = Flag of Illinois Nickname = Land of Lincoln, The Prairie State Motto = State sovereignty, national union Capital = Springfield LargestCity = Chicago LargestMetro = Chicago Governor …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”