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A Study in Pyretotherapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2018

T. D. Power*
Affiliation:
Brentwood Mental Hospital

Extract

The treatment of diseased conditions by means of induced pyrexia is now so frequently carried out that it is surprising how little we know of the biological processes involved. It is not an exaggeration to say that the beneficial effects of malaria in general paralysis are as gratifying as those of liver in pernicious anæmia, and of insulin in diabetes, but we still await a satisfactory explanation of its mode of action. An attempt in this direction was made by Eddison (1), who observed a failure of leucopoiesis in untreated cases of paralytic dementia, which he attributed to degeneration in the reticulo-endothelial system. He considered that, in general, pyrexia was associated with leucocytic reactions, and that this resulted indirectly in reticulo-endothelial stimulation. It is not proposed to consider here the arguments put forward by Eddison, but he should be given credit for being the first person in this country to draw attention to a very important aspect of pyretotherapy.

Type
Part I.—Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1932

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Footnotes

Accepted for publication, April, 1932.

References

1 Eddison, H. W., Journ. Ment. Sci., 1930, lxxvi, No. 312, p. 66.Google Scholar
2 Schroeder, , Knud, , Ann. Medico-Psychol., No. 3, October, 1930.Google Scholar
3 Power, T. D., Lancet, December 13, 1930, p. 1289.Google Scholar
4 Idem, ibid., February 13th, 1932, p. 338.Google Scholar
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6 Rudolf, G. de M., and Ramsay, J. C., Ann. Trop. Med. and Parasit., 1925, xix, p. 419.Google Scholar
7 James, S. P., Malaria at Home and Abroad, p. 134.Google Scholar
8 Aschoff, , Lectures on Pathology, p. 28.Google Scholar
9 Sabin, F. R., Doan, C. A., and Cunningham, R. S., Contributions to Embryology, No. 83, p. 165.Google Scholar
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