THYROID GLAND RESEARCH

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27698, 30 June 1955, Page 10

THYROID GLAND RESEARCH

RESULTS OF U.S. INVESTIGATIONS

NEW YORK. Although the thyroid gland produces the hormone that was the first ever used in human therapy 60 years ago, the full importance of this butterfly-shaped gland is only now being realised by medical science. Recent research shows that it may figure in cancer, tooth decay, mental ana physical exhauston as well ae in goitre, and myxedema, the two most familiar thyroid disorders.

The use of radioactive iodine has helped scientists to make new discoveries about the thyroid. At a recent scientific meeting. Dr. Paul Aebersold of the United States Atomic Energy Commission told of new techniques which can actually provide a map of the most active or diseased areas of the gland.

The thyroid gland is very “hungry** for iodine, and any iodine taken into the body is concentrated in the gland. In the new technique, radioactive iodine is fed to patients suspected of having thyroid difficulties. Then, with highly sensitive instruments, areas of thyroid activity are detected by measuring the radiation emanating from them.

Dental researchers at Indiana University have found a correlation 1 between lowered thyroid function and an increase in tooth decay. They speculate that since the thyroid controls the rate at which the body functions, it probably controls the production of saliva in the mouth. Reduced output of saliva, they think, means that the teeth are washed less effectively and tend to succumb to decay more readily. Other researchers believe that a thyroid secretion actually protects tooth enamel. The part the thyroid may play in cancer was brought out by research on the interdependence of the thyroid and another important hormone gland, the pituitary. Dr. Olof Pearson of New York’s Memorial Centre for Cancer and Allied Diseases has reported excellent results obtained by removing the pituitary from women with hopeless breast cancer. After this operation, however, administration of cortisone and thyroid hormone is necessary to maintain the health of the patient. Extracts from animal glands have been developed to overcome deficiencies of the thyroid hormone. Because of the delicacy of the hormone balance in the human body, production of thyroid extracts in purified form such as proloid requires elaborate controls and checks. To make sure that the metabolic stimulating potency is always the same, proloid is standardised and tested chemically and biologically. Other physicians have noted that the vitality of many women who complain of irritability and sluggishness is restored by treatment with the hormone. These cases are what physicians call marginal instances of hypothyroidism. Unfortunately, in many cases the victims of this condition do not realise that medicine can help them. Because the symptoms of hypothyroidism are so similar to those of many other conditions, thorough examination by a physician is necessary to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment.