Description:

Fleming Alexander



Noble Laureate Alexander Fleming TLS on Penicillin as a Cure For Arthritis

 

Single page typed letter signed on letterhead of Inoculation Department, St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington letterhead, 5" x 8".  Dated "April 11, 1945", and signed by Alexander Fleming as "A Fleming". Near fine with single mailing fold. Accompanied by a First Printing of Alexander Flemings book, Penicillin, Its Practical Application. Published July 1946 by Butterworth & co, London.

 

Fleming was known to have said:

One sometimes finds, what one is not looking for. When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer. But I suppose that was exactly what I did.

 

On 3 September 1928, Fleming returned to his laboratory having spent August on holiday with his family. He was known for leaving a rather untidy laboratory. Before leaving, he had stacked all his cultures of staphylococci on a bench in a corner of his laboratory. On returning, Fleming noticed that one culture was contaminated with a fungus, and that the colonies of staphylococci immediately surrounding the fungus had been destroyed, whereas other staphylococci colonies farther away were normal, famously remarking "That's funny". Fleming grew the mold in a pure culture and found that it produced a substance that killed a number of disease-causing bacteria. He identified the mold as being from the genus Penicillium, and, after some months of calling it "mould juice", named the substance it released penicillin on 7 March 1929. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 for this discovery, he was also knighted for his scientific achievements in1944, and was name in Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century.

 

His letter to Mr. Derwent, dated in the year of receiving the Nobel Prize was reflecting on the use of Penicillin on arthritis. Shown in full below:

 

"In reply to your letter, we have tried penicillin on a few cases of arthritis with very little success and we have not pursued it as we thought it unjustifiable until the supply becomes ample. It will not be very long, however, before there is plenty of penicillin and then you will be able to try it but the chances are it will not be successful."

 

Although since this letter, much research has been done on the causes of arthritis, with advancements in both drug therapy and understanding co-morbid diseases has moved our understanding of this disease forward. As it would turn out the medical community was somewhat on the right track as in more recent years, another antibiotic, Minocycline, a drug in the tetracycline class, has had effective treatment in the early onset of the disease. Antibiotics most studied for use in RA and is generally the standard oral Minocycline antibiotic prescribed for such patients, although it is not FDA-approved for this use. While much more research is needed in this area, the few clinical studies that have been done suggest that minocycline may be a safe, effective treatment option for some patients with RA, especially when taken early in the course of the disease. Using antibiotics to combat RA is not new. In the late 1930s, Thomas McPherson Brown, MD, theorized that RA and other rheumatic disorders begin with an infection by unusual organisms later given the name mycoplasmas. Dr. Brown hypothesized that illnesses of this nature could be treated with antibiotics.

 

Fleming's book was written as an authoritative guide for medical practitioners, so it is highly research based, with independent contributions by numerous authors, giving each author's view on use of penicillin therapy. The authors were instructed that the book was not intended to be merely a resume of all the work which had been done on penicillin, but also to instruct the practitioner how to use penicillin to best advantage when it should become readily available to the whole medical profession.

 

A superb important set, with a letter from the year Fleming received his Nobel Prize.


WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!
Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. ***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHIPMENT TO BE SENT TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE ON FILE WITH INVALUABLE, YOU WILL NEED TO INFORM US OF THIS AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS SUBMITTED FOR YOUR WINNINGS. ALSO, ALL PACKAGES SHIPPED FROM OUR OFFICES REQUIRE A DIRECT SIGNATURE UPON DELIVERY.*** Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000