Evening star., 1939-05-14
Substance IS Found
To Be Successful
As Rejuvendtor
'Emmunine' Increases
Physical Activity Of
Ancient Rodents
By THOMAS X. HENRY,
Star staff Correspondent.

crease in activity, was announced
here today by DR.. r. G. Hoskins,
Boston endoctrinologist.
Strangely enough. the substance is
one of the female sex hormones
found only in pregnant women, and
apparently lacking in all other ami
mails. 1t is emmanine, secreted by
the placenta about the new-formed
human embryo, and the amount of
the secretion increases steadily un-
til the baby is born, when it drops
to zero
The "old men" used by DR.. Hos
kins in his experiments were aged
rats from l6 to % months old One
year in the life of rat equals 80
years of human life Tests have not
yet been tried with humans, but DR..
Hoskins said the behavior of the
senescent animals is very similar to
that of men past the peak of life.
They like to lie in the sun and
dream, are likely to be rather
grouchy and unsociable, and will
not ordinarily do anything unless
forced to-
Conducted in Wheel Cage.
The experiments were conducted
with wheel cage arrangement con-
nected with rest cage. Young ami
mails are very active, seldom resting
and forever racing about. This
causes the wheel to revolve. An au-
tomato record of the number of
revolutions is made so that exact
data can be obtained A normal
adult rat will cause about 5000 revo-
lutions day.
The changes due to age come on
quickly in rats as in men. Bv
the time the animal is l8 to 20
months old the activity is reduced
to 200 to 300 revolutions a week
AS DR.. Hoskins says: The old fell
lows like to sit in the rest cage
and smoke their pipes
Discovery of the remarkable ef-
fects of emmanine came by an elm
ination process Practically all the
hormones secreted by the endocrine
glands were tried. one at a time.
The only one which worked was
the placental hormone. with the
possible exception of a preparation
from the cortex of the adrenal gland
The effects of this we're so slight
that they may have been due to
pure chance. The placental hor-
none increased the activity of some
of the animals from 500 to 1000
per cent, DR.. Hoskins said.
Activity Is Voluntary.
The stepping out" of the old
rats, DR. Hoskins said, was purely
voluntary. They were allowed to
do exactly as they pleased. The
hormone seemed to produce at the
same time renewed inclination to
work and play in the minds of the
animals and an increased vigor to
carry out the inclination.
Ihe finding was complete sur
prise to the experimenters. He had
expected, Dr. Hoskins said that a
temporary effect of this kind might
be produced by one or more of the
male sex hormones One of these,
testosterone propionate, has lately
been found TO have a marked in
v1gorating effect on men of middle
years worn down by worry and over
work. But with the heaviest safe
doses of this hormone the senescent
rats continued to smoke their pipes
In the sun and look with contempt
on their housekeeping, tag-play-
Ing grandsons.
The effects of the emmanine were
very rapid and lasted with little
dimunition for from two to three
weeks. That would be the euuiva-
lent of year or two in the life of
man. The old fellows kept the
pace with the boys. Then the oose
could be renewed. with almost as
propounded effects, for another
period of the same length. Thus it
could be continued until the normal
end of life, with youth maintained
70 the very edge of the grave.
Affects Entire System.
1t apparently is not a sexual ef-
feet, DR. Hoskins said, but one af-
fectlng the entire system The old
rats seem to have no more interest
III the opposite sex than would be
normal in animals of their age.
They just have lot of excess energy
to be worked off in horse play.
Much more experimentation, it
was stressed, must be carried out
before the discovery will be ap-
plicable to human beings. While
there is every reason to believe it
would work just as well with old
men as old rats, the possibility that
1t may actually shorten life must
be considered, it was explained. The
human organism has been so long
adlusted to period of sleepy idle
mes in its closing years that radical
interference with it might have un-
predlctable results. The period has
actually come to be looked upon in
popular literature as a Well-earned
reward for lifetime of labor when
the old step aside and give the boys
chance. 1t also often has been
noted, however, that when a man
fetlres from business. even in the
best OF health, he is likely to sue
cumb very Soon-perhaps from the
sheer monotOny of living.
Emmanlne was discovered about a
decade ago by Dr. j. B. Collip of
McGlll University. Montreal It is
the natural form of the sex hormone
oestrin. which has a wide use in
genealogical medicine. Oestrin. in
the form given to women by phy-
slclans, is made synthetically and
has just as potent an effect as that
excreted in humans. This latter
cannot be exactly duplicated by
synthesis, 1t is, it was explained,
unique among the hormones in that
1t Is just as potent when taken by
mouth as when injected into the
blood stream. Unles some means
can be found for synthesizing the
substance it probably will remain
relatively expensive if it finds wide
use as a rejuvenator because it can
be obtained from only one source.
All efforts to find it in pregnant ami
mails, such as horses and cows, have
failed.
HOSDital SUNNY Is Srarce