a  8 
Editorial. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
*-     January,  19 17. 
associated  with  thyroid  hyposecretion  (thyroid  insufficiency)  the  re- 
sults, as  might  be  expected,  have  been  more  or  less  irregular. 
Thyroid  therapy  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  panacea  for  all  of  the 
ills  which  have  been  described  in  connection  with  thyroid  disturb- 
ances, but  its  intelligent  application  will  often  prove  of  great  benefit 
in  some  of  these  more  or  less  obscure  types  of  thyroid  inefficiency. 
Obesity  is  frequently  found  in  conjunction  with  those  clinical 
conditions  associated  with  decreased  thyroid  activity,  and  it  is  a 
well-known  fact  that  thyroid  preparations  are  capable  of  bringing 
about  a  rapid  loss  in  weight.  Indiscriminate  use  of  thyroid  for  this 
purpose  is  to  be  condemned.  If  given  at  all,  it  should  be  used  only 
in  the  most  conservative  manner  and  combined  with  proper  hygienic 
and  dietetic  measures. 
The  serum  or  whole  blood  of  animals  from  which  the  thyroid 
glands  have  been  removed  has  been  used  with  considerable  success, 
in  the  treatment  of  Graves'  disease  (exophthalmic  goiter).  In 
exophthalmic  goiter,  we  have  an  increased  thyroid  secretion  and 
consequently  a  toxic  condition  manifesting  itself  chiefly  by  profound 
disturbances  of  the  circulatory  and  nervous  systems.  The  utiliza- 
tion of  the  blood  from  thyreoidectomized  animals  is  based  on  the 
knowledge  that  there  are  normally  present  in  the  blood,  substances 
which  are  neutralized  by  the  thyroid  secretion  and  which,  in  turn, 
are  capable  of  neutralizing  the  thyroid  substance.  The  removal  of 
the  thyroid  gland  permits  an  accumulation  in  the  blood  or  of  other 
body  fluids  of  these  substances  having  a  specific  neutralizing  power 
for  thyroid  secretion  and  the  subsequent  administration  either  orally 
or  hypodermatically  of  the  blood  or  serum  of  animals  treated  in  this 
way,  affords  a  satisfactory  means  of  controlling  the  thyroid  toxemia. 
EDITORIAL. 
The  Advancement  of  Pharmacy  in  Minnesota. 
It  is  a  matter  of  gratification  to  all  those  interested  in  the  de- 
velopment of  pharmacy  to  note  the  active  interest  displayed  by  the 
members  of  the  Minnesota  State  Pharmaceutical  Association  in  se- 
curing a  prerequisite  law.  Mr.  Ebert,  the  champion  of  the  retail 
druggists,  when  he  lived  said  that  "  the  Laws  to  regulate  the  prac- 
tice of  pharmacy  should  protect  the  public,  in  whose  interest  they 
