{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T17:34:17Z","timestamp":1788802457049,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":8,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,18]],"date-time":"2025-08-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755475200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,18]],"date-time":"2025-08-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755475200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Ir J Med Sci"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]},"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n Background<\/jats:title>\n James Henry (1798\u20131876) was a Dublin physician and classical scholar best remembered for his translation of Virgil\u2019s Aeneid. Little is recorded about his medical practice.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Aim<\/jats:title>\n To describe Henry's 1843 proposal for a controlled trial of treatment for \u2018the itch\u2019.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Method<\/jats:title>\n Qualitative examination\u00a0of historical\u00a0medical journals.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n Henry suggests taking twelve patients and treating six with cold-water treatment and six with standard treatment (sulphur). Henry\u2019s proposal sets out four general principles for selecting diseases to study the alleged benefits of cold-water treatment. First, the condition should be one upon which it is safe to experiment. Second, the disease should be \u2018visible and tangible, and\u2026 cannot be simulated or misrepresented, or misunderstood\u2019. Third, it should have no spontaneous recovery. Finally, there should already be a \u2018certain [i.e. proven] remedy\u2019. Henry had published in 1834 on sulphur as a laxative. By calling for twelve participants, it is possible that Henry\u2019s proposal was influenced by the writing of Francis Hauksbee the Younger (1743) and James Lind (1753).<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n Although there is no evidence that Henry\u2019s trial ever took place, his proposal and principles for selecting a disease to study reveal a critical and ethical mind. It also constitutes a notable landmark on the journey towards formal controlled trials.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s11845-025-04027-x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,18]],"date-time":"2025-08-18T10:33:05Z","timestamp":1755513185000},"page":"2303-2305","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Cold-water, Sulphur and \u2018the itch\u2019: James Henry\u2019s principles for conducting controlled trials (1843)"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"194","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6754-2336","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Max","family":"Cooper","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jo","family":"Middleton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Cooper","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"4027_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lyons, J. B. (2009). Henry James. Dictionary of Irish Biography. https:\/\/www.dib.ie\/biography\/henry-james-a3941 (accessed 1 March 2025)","DOI":"10.3318\/dib.003941.v1"},{"key":"4027_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Henry J. (1843) Proposed Test of the Cold-Water Cure. Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal. Sep 30;6(157):542\u20133. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmj.s1-6.157.542. https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/s1-6\/157\/542 (accessed 5 March 2025)","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.s1-6.157.542"},{"key":"4027_CR3","first-page":"71","volume-title":"A medical history of skin: scratching the surface","author":"K Siena","year":"2013","unstructured":"Siena K (2013) The moral biology of \u201cthe Itch\u201d in eighteenth-century Britain. In: Reinarz J, Siena K (eds) A medical history of skin: scratching the surface. Routledge, London, pp 71\u201383"},{"key":"4027_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1473-2130.2004.00055.x","volume":"3","author":"KS Leslie","year":"2004","unstructured":"Leslie KS, Millington GWM, Levell NJ (2004) Sulphur and skin: from Satan to Saddam! J Cosmet Dermatol 3:94\u201398. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/j.1473-2130.2004.00055.x","journal-title":"J Cosmet Dermatol"},{"key":"4027_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Tilakaratne D, De Rosa N, Currie B (2023) Management of Common Scabies. In: Fischer, K., Chosidow, O. (eds) Scabies. Springer, Cham. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-3-031-26070-4_24","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-031-26070-4_24"},{"key":"4027_CR6","unstructured":"Henry J (1834) The Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol 41, pp 48\u201354. https:\/\/www.google.co.uk\/books\/edition\/Edinburgh_Medical_and_Surgical_Journal\/mLABij3PhnEC?hl=en&gbpv\u00a0.Accessed 1 Mar 2025"},{"key":"4027_CR7","unstructured":"Trohler U (2000) To improve the evidence of medicine. Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Edinburgh,\u00a0Printed by Metro Press Euro, Scotland, pp\u00a088\u201389"},{"key":"4027_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Cooper M and Cooper S (2025) Experimentum crucis: Hauksbee the younger\u2019s \u2018decisive experiment\u2019 for comparing the \u2018Safety and Efficacy\u2019 of new medicines (1743). 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