TREATMENT OF GOITRE

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 194, 13 May 1922, Page 4

TREATMENT OF GOITRE

EXPERIMENTS "WELL WORTH WHILE” BT TELEGBAPH-PBESS ASSOCIATION. Auckland, May 12. The Hon. C. J. Parr referred to-day to comments in' a southern paper to the effect that the Health Department had not been doing anything in the way of experiments and treatment to cope with the goitre that has been making its appearance in the South Island. Mr. Parr said he had just received a report’ from Dr. Wilkins (Director of School Hygiene) as follows: —“Experiments in the treatment of goitre in school children by the administration of very small doses of iodine is being carried on by Dr. Eleanor Baker, school medical officer, Christchurch. It will, however,, be necessary to study the effects of the treatment for a number of years before a decided pronouncement can be made as to permanent results. A total of 591 children have been under treatment, and observations have also been kept of 756 untreated children. So far the results are, on the whole, very satisfactory, and the experiments have proved well worth .while. That diminution in the size of goitre eeeurs in a fair proportion of cases treated, and only in very few of those not treated,' appears to bo confirmed by results obtained in a similar expe . ■ment by Dr. Gunn, school medical officer at Wanganui. As the result ot beneficial results.