DISCOVERY OF PROTEIN PRINCIPLE IN THERAPEUTICS 123 



lipomas and fibromas of "benign" character; in addition to (7) 

 the neoplasms commonly recognized as "malignant." 



I venture to associate all these conditions, and to trace them 

 to a common origin in maladjustments of protein metabolism, 

 and I suggest that it might not be illogical to group them all 

 under some such generic title as hyperproteomorphism, or the 

 cancerous condition. I shall not attempt here to discuss even 

 in briefest detail the interesting questions in pathology that arise 

 in connection with the implied association of conditions of such 

 seeming diversity. Such a discussion will form the basis of 

 another book. Here I wish to point out very briefly two or 

 three sets of clinical facts that give at least a measure of sup- 

 port to the unorthodox conception applied in this classification. 



I would first call attention to the familiar fact that a well- 

 known type of fatty and mucinous hypertrophy known as myx- 

 oedema is associated with perversions of the thyroid function; 

 and the further fact that there is believed to be a close asso- 

 ciation between the integrity of the hormone functioning and 

 bodily metabolism in general. 



Without attempting to point out except in this general way 

 what I conceive to be the bearing of the observation, I wish to 

 note that it has been observed by at least one physician who 

 was administering the mixed proteals in a case of cancer that 

 an enlarged thyroid disappeared during the treatment. 



Observations along this line have not yet reached the point of 

 readiness for detailed publication. By way of anticipation, how- 

 ever, we may note that the modification of blood count under 

 influence of the thyroid serum is singularly like that brought 

 about by the proteals ; suggesting that the action of the serum 

 is partly explicable on the basis of its protein content. Doubt- 

 less there is also an anti-thyroid enzyme element, but the agent 

 that causes decrease in size of the enlarged thyroid is probably 

 not this anti-ferment, but the sheep-serum protein. 



In the next instance I would note that in a case of cancer 

 under mixed vegetable protein treatment there existed the com- 

 plication of severe rheumatoid arthritis. The latter condition 

 cleared up entirely a seeming cure being effected under the 

 protein treatment. This observation led to the administration 

 of the proteals in several cases of rheumatoid arthritis uncom- 

 plicated by the presence of cancer ; and the results of such treat- 

 ment have been highly gratifying. In a recent case the response 

 to rape seed protein by itself seemed as active as the response 

 to the combined proteins. 



As regards the relation of the new treatment to the form of 

 nutritional maladjustment manifesting itself in pernicious anae- 



