Evening star., 1952-03-30
Surgeons Give Detail
On First Successful
Pituitary Removal
By Thomas R. Henry
Sior Stoff Correspondent

By Thomas R. Henry
Sior stoff Correspondent
BALTIMORE, Mar. 29.-The
pituitary gland, tiny but incon-
ceivably complex bit Of nerve
tissue at the base Of the brain
which is life's control station, has
been removed successfully for the
first time in a human being.
The subject. 72-year-old COL
ored man who underwent the
operation about four months ago.
was shown in apparent good
health.
The pituitary was removed by
DR.. A. E. Walker OF the Johns
Hopkins Medical School staff. The
details Of the operation were re-
vealed in a symposium arranged
for science writer's by the Ameri-
can Cancer Society here yester-
day.
The pituitary secretes an un-
known number of hormones. The
major purpose of all Of them
seems to be to stimulate other
glands such as the thyroid, the
sex glands, above all the adrenals
which are stimulated to secrete
cortisone.
The patient had been suffering
from a prostate gland cancer.
Ordinary treatment would have
been removal of the male sex
glands. treatment with a female
sex hormone and-posSibly as a
last step-surgery of the adrenals.
DR.. Walker Short-circuited all
this by direct attack on the
master glands.
Effects Still Undetermined.
Even a year ago this probably
would have been impossible be-
cause Of the interference with
the secretion of the adrenals.
Now this can be compensated for
with cortiSone. The effect on the
cancer still is indeterminate.
Johns Hopkins surgeons also
demonstrated cases of cancer sur
gerry on mouth and throat in which
lower jaws on one side of the face.
together with parts of the toung.
are removed. For this operation
patients are on the operating table
from five to nine hours.
These long operations were
made possible first, through the
experience of Army surgeons dur
ing the war when large parts of
face and throat were shot away.
and second, because of the avail
ability OF penicillin and blood for
transfusions. Hitherto a person
undergoing such surgery almost
certainly would have died of in
lection because the mouth is full
OF micro-organisms.
Plastic Surgery Required.
Extensive plastic surgery is re-
quired so that patients will not
present too mutilated an appear
ance. In the Johns Hopkins tech
n1que, the removal of cancerols
tissue and the first steps for re-
building face and jaw proceed at
the same time.
The science writer's also were
shown the first movies of banditry'
IN life's ultimate depths, photo
graphed with the ,electron micro
scope and magnified 100. .O00-fold.
The behavior of criminal, malig-
nant cells is contrasted with that
OF the ordinary cells, respectable
citizens Of the world of the micro
scopic which live. owold and die
ct normal rates.
1t has been possible, It was ex-
planned by DR.. George o. Grey of
the Johns Hopkins faculty to OBJ
tain and grow In cultures normal
human crevix cells and also cells
from a cervix cancer.
Under the electron microscope,
the behavior of these cells, acting
like independent micro organisms.
can be compared from hour to
hour. This is the first time this
has been possible for human tis-
sue.
Differences Noteworthy.
Comparisons between cancer
cells and normal cells not of iden-
tical origin have little meaning,
1t was explained. The following
noteworthy differences have been
found:
Maglignant cells are more ac-
tive than normal. They eat more
and eat faster.
Normal cells from the same type
Of tissue tend to be of approx
mately the same size. Cancer cells
vary greatly in size. Each normal
cell. as a rule. splits into two.
This is the ordinary process of
growth. But malignant cell may
split into four or five others.
In the nucleus of every cell are
rod-like bodies known as chrome
somes, which contain the factors
responsible for heredity. Maglig-
nant cells. however, seem to con-
tain more of these than normal
but sometimes throw of daughter
cells which contain fewer than
normal.
Malignant cells do not stick to-
gether as do normal cells. This
may be related to their ability to
destroy normal cell barriers.
Altogether, 1t was stressed,
these studies are poryiding the
most comprehensive picture yet Of
the criminal behavior of the cell
world and they are possible only
with the technique of ultra micro
scope photography. But no clue
yet has been found as to what
makes cells go wrong.