ORGANOTHERAPY AND HORMONO THERAPY 103 



thyroid may exert a favorable influence on it. 17 That except in hypo- 

 thyroid individuals it will prove more efficient here than the administra- 

 tion of iodids, I do not believe. 



Infectious Diseases. In organotherapeutic literature, especially that 

 issued as propaganda, reference is frequently made to an important role 

 played by the thyroid in immunity processes, with at least an implication 

 that thyroid- administration may therefore be useful in patients suffering 

 from various infectious diseases. Thus far at least the evidence that this 

 is so is by no means conclusive, although it is fairly conclusive to the 

 effect that impairment of the thyroid function does lessen the powers of 

 resistance. This has been shown by the almost universal experience that 

 thyroidectomized animals and hypothyroid patients are abnormally sus- 

 ceptible to infections, and by Koopman's observation that in hypothyroid 

 rabbits the antibody formation was slow and imperfect and that under the 

 influence of thyroid it became normal. Passings (a) (b) (c) claim that 

 after thyroid administration to normal animals the immunizing properties 

 of their sera are augmented has not to my knowledge been confirmed, but 

 would indicate that this effect is exerted not only in hypothyroid but also 

 in normal animals. I know of no clinical observations that would indicate 

 that in individuals with normal thyroids the administration of thyroid 

 substance increases their immunity reactions.* Until such clinical evi- 

 dence has been brought and in no uncertain form, it would seem unwise 

 to assume that thyroid therapy will have such an effect. 



Syphilis. Although as long ago as 1893 reports were made of the 

 successful employment of thyroid in the treatment of syphilis and although 

 since then similarly favorable results have from time to time been reported 

 by various authors (see von Jauregg, loc, cit, p. 152), these communica- 

 tions appear to have attracted little attention and syphilographers gen- 

 erally have not been inclined to accept it as a useful agent in the treatment 

 of this disease. Wagner von Jauregg, however, as the result of his own 

 clinical observations and because of certain theoretical considerations, con- 

 siders that, in some cases at least, thyroid administration is distinctly more 

 beneficial than that of iodids. He also believes that the ingestion of thy- 

 roid distinctly increases the tolerance to mercury, and states that certain 

 of his cases, which had been unsuccessfully treated with mercury and 

 iodids, were promptly and decidedly benefited when thyroid was substi- 

 tuted for the iodid. 18 He urges that in cases of syphilis, which have shown 



"The well established utility of iodids in these cases appears as I have pointed 

 out elsewhere, best explained as follows: By the administration of iodids the thyroid 

 is stimulated to greater activity and this leads to increased sympathetic tone, which, 

 by its influence on the bronchial muscles, tends to prevent bronchial spasm. A similar 

 effect may be expected from thyroid administration. 



18 At the post-mortem examination of one of these patients, who died of an inter- 

 current infection, the thyroid was found in an advanced stage of atrophy. 



* See Addendum, p. 150. 



