244 THE INTERNAL SECRETIONS 1920 



may present the same hypogonadism that is found in 

 pathological conditions. 



I quote the following from an author who is evidently 

 of the same opinion as myself : 



"The diagnosis need not be discussed further, and its 

 successful control through a mythical elixir vitae has 

 been the goal of many from time immemorial, and from 

 Ponce de Leon to the present day. Hypogonadism 

 may be amenable to organotherapy even in elderly 

 men, and the fundamental principles of homostimula- 

 tion holds good in proportion to the responsiveness of 

 the glands thus stimulated. It is a broader matter than 

 the gonads alone, as the thyroid, pituitary and other 

 endocrine glands all play their part. Senility then is 

 hypocrinism rather than hypogonadism alone, and if 

 we must treat it, it should be treated in the larger 

 sense, and when organotherapy is in mind, it should be 

 pluriglandular therapy. 



Thus the failures of the past have acted as stepping 

 stones to a more thorough investigation and firmer un- 

 derstanding of the subject. The solution of the vital 

 functioning of the body depends on endocrine secretion, 

 as do the senile and presenile phenomena. 



SENILITY AN ENDOCRINE MALNUTRITION 



Senility or old age is inevitable. It is the logical 

 termination of the human organism. The allotted time 

 of three-score years and ten, however, is only tradi- 

 tional, and there is no scientific reason why the human 

 being must wither and cease to become a functioning 

 factor after this time. We have accepted the age of 

 seventy as the time for dysfunction, because we have 

 had no specific therapy to combat its ravages. In other 

 words, we have accepted the ultimatum because we 

 have had no argument in the form of resistance to com- 

 bat its ravages. 



