Halstead, William

William Halstead was a founder of Johns Hopkins University, and the inventor of the radical mastectomy (removal of the breast). Halstead was also the first American surgeon to investigate cocaine as a local anaesthetic, a painkiller applied directly to the wound or other source of pain. Unfortunately, Halstead took his work home with him. 

Experimental evidence shows that stimulants actually may impair one s ability to learn complex tasks (Fischman, 1984). Considerable anecdotal evidence suggests that stimulants may impair performance in complex reasoning. Consider the case of William Halstead. Halstead became known as the father of modern surgery for his pioneering work in the early 1900s. But later in his career, while studying the anesthetic properties of cocaine, he was probably the first American to become addicted to the... 

Efforts to use chelating agents as antagonists for toxic metals began in the 1940s and since that time the literature in this area has grown considerably. Comprehensive reviews of this field are available (Catsch 1968 Catsch and Harmuth-Hoehne 1979 May and Bulman 1983 Bulman 1987 Williams and Halstead 1982/1983 Jones 1991). 

Williams DR, Halstead BW (1982/1983) Chelating agents in medicine. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol 19 1081-1115... 

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