Evening star., 1933-10-12
FIELD OF HORMONE
MEDICINE SEEN
Dr.. P. (. Smith Says PhySi.
clans Find Body Tissues
Equally important.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, october ia future
field of hormone medicine, with hor-
nlones the seeds and body tissues the
soil, is foreseen by DR.. Philip E. Smith
of the College of Physicians and Sur
geons
L.aymen, he indicates, have been daz-
zled with the story of the discovery
of these seeds-chemicals which con-
troll man bodily, mentally, seXually,
emotionally and facially. This story of
the seeds may be true, but medical men
are beginning to discover that the soil
is equally important and that some OF
1t is barren.
The hormoneS are SecretionS dis
charged in minute quantities into the
blood by the endocrine glands. Like
the fruits on a tree, these glands are
. found distributed about the body from
the head down to the hips. Many
medical men doubt that all the en-
doctrines have been found.
Practical Discoveries Made.
But those well known are the pituitary
gland, at the base of the brain, which
secretes substances affecting growth, the
body's water balance. production of
milk and, indirectly complexion and
sexual development. At the base of the
neck are the thyroid glands, affecting
also growth, mentality and nervous
balance
Still lower are the adrenal glands,
which supply the spurts of energy for
meeting perilous crises. and also hor-
moneS, which drive off tired feelings
and probably to some extent affect
Cheerfulness. Another is the pancreaS,
one of whose hormones, insulin. is
widely used to control diabetes.
Studies IN this field have progressed
with amazing rapidity," Dr. Smith says.
Discoveries of immediate practical i'm
portance have been announced.
The role played by the tissues and
their capacity to react has been too
little considered. 1t has been seriously
suggested by eminent scientists that the
stature of the pigmy is what it is be-
cause the pituitary does not Secrete a
normal amount of the growth hormone,
or that the soldiers of the Mikado might
have the stature of the Nordic if they
could be endowed with more active
pituitary gland.
Investigations Continue.
1T is true that the administration
OF the growth hormone to rats or GER
tain species of dogs increases their body
size, but to assume from this that racial
= size or racial characteristics are de-
pendent solely upon the activity of the
endocrines, seems to me an unjustifled
-6eu1fction
The inherent capacity and limita-
tlons in the response of tissues to en-
docrine products will increasingly en-
gage, believe, the attention of inveSti-
gators in the endocrine field. Begin
ming in Investigations directed to this
end have already been made by genetic
studies in dogs. in which it has been
shown that in the same endocrine en-
vironment, inheritance influences the
growth of the skeleton.
Thus if a race of dogs having long
jaws is crossed with race having short
jaws. the offspring may show the in
teresting condition of having long
upper jaw, inherited from one parent.
the other parent.
Glands Affect Behavior.
TT has been correctly and graphic
ally stated that a pinch too much Of
thyroid spells delirium; pinch too
little idiocy. The endocrine glands un-
doubtedly affect behavior a person
who is sick from an endocrine disturb
ance cannot act other than as sick
between recognition of this fact. and
the attributing of most social misbe-
havior to these glands.
"As an example. one rather widely
known endocrinologist states that III
100 children exhibiting abnormal be-
havior he found in 10 of them evidence
of an endocrine-usually pituitary dis
order The abnormal behavior was
manifested by bullying, lying. disobc-
dience and so on. The giving of pitui-
tary is alleged to have caused improve
ment in these personality defects.
In the absence of control observa-
tions, which could readily have been
made. it seems justif1able to be severely
r, critical and skeptical of endocrine work
of this type. 1t may well be that the
behavoriStic improvement can be at
tributed as much to the desire of the
children to be done with the treatm ant
as to the therapeutic action CT the
material administered. An assafetida
bag hung about the neck might have
been just as effective"