Of all chronic diseases, arthritis is far & away the most prevalent (7,000,000 U.S. sufferers). It is also one of the most mysterious. Last week a $2,500,000 campaign was begun to try to discover the cause of the disease. Arthritic Lionel Barrymore headed the sponsors. The main effort will be a big research program, to be centered at Leo N. Levi Memorial Hospital, Hot Springs, Ark.
Arthritis is the modern name for rheumatism and "the misery," one of the oldest diseases on earth (even dinosaurs had it, as their fossil remains show). Doctors recognize two chief types: 1) rheumatoid, an inflammation which...