LATEST INJECTIONS

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 12485, 20 October 1938, Page 7

LATEST INJECTIONS

“PEPPING UP” RACEHORSES AND FOOTBALLERS London, Oct. 9 More than 100 racehorses are reported to have received newly-deve-loped gland injections to give them confidence, courage, staying-power, and extra speed. The treatment, given at a Hertfordshire laboratory, is similar to that given to the Wolverhampton Wanderers football players last year. Mr Menzies Sharpe, the expert ivho supervised the Wolverhampton experiment, says that invariably horse owners order the treatment in the strictest secrecy, but unlike dope, which is banned by the Jockey Club, and which is a temporary stimulant, the gland treatment is essentially a health treatment. Extract From Glands

A Sydney research physiologist said to-day that the extract used would probably be from the adrenal-produc-ing glands. This has a strong effect on persons suffering from deficiency of the glands’ secretion. Similarly, extracts from the thyroid gland and of the posterior portion of the pituitary gland were very beneficial to patients in whom these secretions were deficient.

“I am sceptical, however, of the supposed invigorating effects of these extracts in people of normal constitution,” he said. _ “Innumerable experiments on these lines have been made on animals and humans. The effects vary. Where the vigour of healthy individuals seems to be increased, the effect is transient. “One may say that at present it is difficult or impossible .to increase stamina by these methods beyond the normal level of the species in health. Hard to Estimate “These effects, too, are difficult to estimate,” he said. “This would be specially so in racehorses, since the animal would usually be physically fit, and' the exercise of racing itself raises the blood pressure more than adrenalin extract can raise it. “It is unlikely that any glandular product not generally known to 1 science is being used in the Hertfordshire experiments.” Adrenalin is a secretion of the supra-renal glands (small ductless glands above the kidneys) in mammals. It raises the blood pressure by constricting the arteries and increasing the rate of heart-beat. In August, 1937, Wolverhampton footballers began a six-months’ course of gland treatment, under medical supervision. The team’s secretary-manager, Major« Buckley, said he was using the treatment for the younger players to try to make them stronger. Animal gland extracts were used, in capsule form .or as injections. It was believed that these would stimulate growth and stamina,*and overcome timidity. Clubs Protest The reference to “timidity” suggests that the extract contained adrenalin. Other leading clubs protested against the innovation and proposed a ban on gland treatment. They urged that it introduced an artificiality foreign to the spirit of football that the practice might be abused, and that after-effects of such treatment might be dangerous. Jimmy Seed, former star and manager of the Charlton Football Club London, commented; “If a player needs glands treatment to make him last a full 90 minutes, I think It is time the player should pack up.” It is interesting, however, to note that the Wolverhampton Wanderers last season improved their positoin. compared with the previous year, winning 20 out of 42 matches, and drawing 11. They finished second to Arsenal.