Physicians at a hospital in  Shanghai recently saved the life of an alcoholic with a rarely  seen complication by a treatment which combines traditional  Chinese and western medicine.

   The alcoholic, a middle-aged man, had drunk up to one kilogram  of alcohol each day for three years. When his legs and his arms  became paralyzed he was immediately admitted to a nearby hospital  where he was found to have hypokalemia.

   Three days later, the paralysis increased and the patient  developed loss of concentration and began hallucinating. He became critically ill and was transferred to the Shanghai Municipal  Hospital Combining Chinese Traditional and Western Medicine.

   Han Fuli, a doctor in charge, diagnosed the man as suffering  from a rare form of cerebro-muscular degeneration.  Han and his  colleagues first put the emphasis on treating the alcoholic  poisoning, and then began to treat the rare complication of the  disease, by using a therapy combining traditional Chinese with  western medicine.

   After a month's treatment and careful nursing, the patient  improved and was out of danger. He was discharged from the  hospital recently.