ORGANOTHERAPY AND HORMONOTHERAPY 131 



not occur. Thus far no satisfactory explanation foT such habituation has 

 been demonstrated. All attempts to show that it is due to formation of 

 an antibody have been unsuccessful. In spite of occasional laboratory ob- 

 servations of incidents suggesting the development of hypersusceptibility, 

 it is improbable that this really occurs. Bossi, however, believes that 

 it does, 



Organotherapy with Suprarenal Substances 



Suprarenal preparations, including epinephrin, have been and 

 still are employed in a very large and varied field, but up to the 

 present time there is much diversity of opinion as to their value in 

 the treatment of many of the conditions in which their use is recom- 

 mended. In the light of the still incomplete knowledge of the role played 

 by disease or disturbed function of these glands, it is extremely difficult or 

 even impossible to draw a sharp distinction between the employment of 

 suprarenal preparations in conditions where the function of these glands 

 is at fault, and their use to combat various symptoms and conditions not 

 so far as we know in any way causally related to disordered suprarenal 

 functions. Among the former may be placed with considerable confidence 

 Addison's disease, and, with much less assurance, acute suprarenal in- 

 sufficiency, functional suprarenal insufficiency, and Erb's myasthenia. 



Addison's Disease. As the therapeutics of this condition is fully 

 treated in another section of this work, to which the reader is referred, 

 it will be discussed here only in connection with the role played in it by 

 suprarenal preparations, Charrin and Langlois, using glycerin extracts of 

 horse and dog suprarenals, were probably the first to employ organotherapy 

 in this disease. Following them, clinicians everywhere have adopted 

 suprarenal therapy as a routine measure in its treatment. While all too 

 often the results have been disappointing, it would appear to be settled 

 that in many cases the administration of suprarenal preparations, or 

 epinephrin, is followed by beneficial and even curative effects. In 1902 

 Adams was able to collect 120 cases thus treated, in twenty-five of which 

 permanent benefit resulted. The striking improvement of the asthenia has 

 been ergographically demonstrated. Restoration of the blood-pressure 

 to normal, disappearance of the hypothermia, cessation of the diarrhea, 

 and increase in weight are among the other favorable effects noted. 



Notwithstanding the many reports of successful treatment of cases of 

 Addison's disease by administration of suprarenal preparations, there are 

 not a few clinicians who are entirely skeptical as to the value of this treat- 

 ment. Among these may be mentioned Hirsch, who states that there is 

 no cure for this disease, and that organotherapy has not made good. He 

 considers that, among the cases in which cure has been claimed, are many 

 in which the correctness of the diagnosis may be doubted and that in 



