The attention of the homoeopathic profession was directed to the drug as a possible remedy in paraplegia, in the _British Journal of Homoeopathy_, Vol. III. Here is found an account of a wheat famine in India, where the peas of the plant were substituted for wheat and used as a food. Those who subsisted on it were taken, even during sleep, with sudden paralysis of the lower limbs; this occurred without warning, in young men more than in young women, and was never recovered from. Another observer records fifty cases who had eaten the _Lathyrus_ bread and all stated that they became paralytic during the wet season of the country, that they went to bed quite well and awoke with stiff legs, unsteady gait, and aching, but no severe pain. The upper extremities were free.
Another who saw the disease in Algeria and described the symptoms found in ten cases observed that they came on suddenly, in damp weather, with some pains in the loins, trembling, motor paralysis and exaggerated reflexes. He attributed these phenomena to an acute transverse myelitis with degenerative changes in the cord.
A German writer states that the drug produces disturbances of nutrition of the muscles of the lower extremities, paresis, and that the muscles of the trunk and neck and face remain unaffected. Sensation remains normal. It seems to produce a sclerosis of the pyramidal tracts of the cord.
In animals the same condition is found; namely, paralysis of the hind legs. Pigs drag their hind legs and horses give out.
From all the sources which I have been able to find, the following seem to be the symptoms caused by the drug:
Sudden loss of power in the lower extremities, from the waist down.
Stiffness and lameness of the ankles and knees.
Excessive rigidity of the legs; flexion difficult; spastic gait, the legs becoming interlocked, and walking is difficult or impossible.
Sudden onset of the trouble, and apparent aggravation in cold and damp weather.
Emaciation of the gluteal muscles also observed.
Those having taken it walked on the metatarso-phalangeal articulation, the heel not touching the ground.
Impossible to stand steady; swayed from side to side, but closing the eyes had no effect. This with the exaggerated reflexes would exclude its use in locomotor ataxia.