Evening star., 1938-08-23
Henry
Continued From First Page.)

even greater maintaining capacity
and may be of considerable value in
medicine.
It seems probable, he said. that
deoxy y-corticosterone is the simplest
compound showing full ''cortin' ac-
tivity, performing in the body all the
functions of the natural substance,
although less effectively. The actual
syathesis of cortin itself appears fur
ther off than ever because the new
experiments show it must be a group
Of substances which work as team
In some complex fashion. Even those
which show no biological activity of
themselves may in nature play some
part in activating others. 1t also is
possible, he said, that in the whole
extract there is an as yet unidentified
substance which is much more power
ful than any of those which have been
gotten out thus far.
A very slight chemical change in
deoxy- xy-corticosterone changes it into
progesterone, one Of the female sex
hormones. Progesterone itself, how
sver, has none of the life-preserving
snd energy-raising qualities of cortin.
The next steps, DR.. Reichstein said,
must be the synthesis of other closely
related compounds and intensive tests
On animals from whom the adrenal
glands have been removed.
Preparation of more than so syn
thetic male hormones, only five of
rrtSt oh, jy, #O~f
10 get at the chemical secret of their
potency, was reported by DR.. L.
Euzicka, the Swiss chemist who first
synthesized the male sex hormone
three years ago. Both the natural and
the synthetic belong to one chemical
group, but different ones vary enor-
n1ously in power and function with
minute changes in the molecular ar
rangement, DR.. Ruzicka said.
Tested on Chickens.
They are tested by their capacity
to- promote the growth Of combs in
capons. Other tests show, he said,
that whole series of the synthetic
derivatives show weak activity parallel
to that of one of the female sex hor-
nones, and finding the chemical rea-
son for this may shed light on one of
the most fundamental sex differences.
Hitherto all work on the synthesis
Of hormoneS has been imitation Of ma
tue, an attempt to reproduce as
closely as possible the precise chem
ical structure secreted by endocrine
glands of the animal body Working
In almost infinitesimally minute guam
tides to produce sensational effects,
there has been no idea that man might
improve upon them.
An entirely new avenue was opened
up with the report here today by Prof.
q. c. Dodds, English chemist, that
he had succeeded in producing several
substances, very simple in their COM
position, which duplicated the ac-
tfyity of one Of the most potent of the
female sex hormoneS, oestrln. Chem
lcally, he said, they are entirely I'M
related to oestrin. One of them, with
the imposing chemical name of A.
dihydroxy-a; b-diethyl-stilbene, he re-
ported was several times more potent
than the naturally occurring hormone.
This discovery, it was stressed by
chemists attending the meeting, may
be revolutionary In its significance for
medicine and for clearer understand
ing of some of the most deeply rooted
phenomena of life.
Initiated Activity.
1T would appear" said Prof. Dodds,
that biological activity may be imi-
tated by whole series of substances,
possibly quite foreign to the body"
He intimated that this finding may
h6ve special significance in the field
Of vitamins with the possibility OF find
ing in the laboratory entirely different
materials which will have an even
more powerful action
The course of biological chemistry
In this respect seems to be repeating,
It. was stressed. the history of other
branches of this science. The first
e6ort always has been to copy nature
Ia the production of perfumes, fabrics,
paastics and the like In each case
there has been branching away to
produce materials by entirely different
fcrmulae better than Nature ever has
been able to produce
sOther chemists stressed, however,
that DR.. Dodd's female sex hormone
work is the only case to date where
hermone activity has been found for
ary substance which is not chemically
very close to that produced by the
Rdy. DR.. Ruzicka said that he and
\ 5 associates have found that any,
ling departing very far from the
Fmula Of the male sex hormones In
turs has no potency whatsoever.
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