IV
The
Thyroid Gland and Hormones
Steinach's Tests
Mental
and Physical Rejuvenation Treatments
Dr.
Steiner. Gentlemen, someone has handed in a written
question concerning the thyroid gland.
Question: The thyroid gland can become enlarged
and when it does a goitre is formed. Since goitres may exert
pressure on the windpipe and thus cause a problem, operations
have been performed on this gland, whose function is unknown.
Soon after surgery, however, a strange phenomenon was
observed. Persons whose whole thyroid gland had been
removed exhibited both physical and mental changes. Growth
stopped, limbs became enlarged and perspiration ceased. There
also was evidence of some mental retardation. When the cause
for this was realized, one sought to remedy the defects by
feeding the unfortunate persons thyroid glands taken from
freshly slaughtered calves or wethers. The result was
astonishing. All negative effects subsided. But these
results were short-lived, and within a few weeks the trend was
reversed again. The patient's stomach also rebelled. Then
sections of thyroid glands were introduced into the throat.
Again, the results were amazing, but signs of deterioration
reappeared.
Injections made with preparations from thyroid glands were not
much more successful. An English firm has achieved surprising
results with certain tablets even in cases of cretinism.
A short interruption in their use, however, reverses the
process of recovery. What is to be expected with the continued
use of these tablets?
Dr.
Steiner: Gentlemen, if you take into consideration
what we have already discussed here, you will be able to
understand this matter fairly well. You see, until about
seventy years ago, until about the middle of the nineteenth
century, no particular significance was attached to the thyroid
gland, which is located here in the front of the neck. It was
thought to be like the appendix or some other organ that had
had a function in man's ancestors but was no longer needed. In
short, no special importance was attributed to this gland. Then
it was noted that its degeneration, with the formation of a
goitre, had a specific effect even on mental faculties. Its
purpose and pathological enlargements were studied in cretins,
that is, retarded and mentally deficient people. One can
observe that in certain geographic regions persons are both
retarded and afflicted with goitres. It is known throughout
Europe that in Halberstadt the retarded population has goitres
so large that in some cases they extend over the shoulders.
Now,
it was thought at first that if pathological enlargement
of the thyroid had such a pronounced influence on the mental
faculties, surgical removal was indicated. This is how they
think today. A great preference is shown for surgery because
significant progress was made in surgical methods in the
nineteenth century; this has become the most important
aspect of medicine, that most deserving of recognition. So the
first thought is to remove those organs that apparently have no
significance. This is the procedure followed in the case of the
appendix. It is surgically removed if it shows any pathological
symptoms.
This
manner of thinking ignores something I have repeatedly
emphasized here. You will recall that when you observe man in
his totality, you often note that something is present in
certain processes of the child that has effects much later on,
even in advanced age. Ordinary medical opinions are
concerned only with what is demanded at the moment.
Therefore, steps are taken that seem most beneficial at
the given moment, but no attention is paid to the future course
of events. It is difficult to make an overall judgment about
these matters because, if a patient is not operated on when he
exhibits symptoms of appendicitis, for example, he may
immediately succumb. Then, of course, the doctor is held
responsible. The point is to investigate other than surgical
means to solve these problems. You are familiar, perhaps, with
the fad these days of letting youngsters go about as much as
possible with bare feet and legs, even up to the knees. Well,
this habit contributes to the degeneration of the appendix! Of
course, once the appendix has become inflamed, it must be
removed, but when you see matters in a larger context, you know
how to prevent such problems from arising in the first
place.
Now,
it is correct that the thyroid gland has great
significance and important implications for the whole
human organism. As I have said, people have been aware of this
since the last half of the nineteenth century. They know that a
malfunctioning thyroid does not allow the use of the body for
mental activities in a normal way. Everything referred to in
the question actually occurred. If a portion of the gland was
allowed to remain, the patient did, indeed, make some
improvement. He was relieved of the enlargement and his
mentality was not adversely affected. But when the whole
thyroid was removed and nothing of the gland remained, the
patient became more retarded than before. Naturally, it was
learned from this that even a diseased thyroid gland has
significance for the expression of man's faculties of
soul and spirit.
The
secretion of the thyroid has been administered to
patients in a number of ways. Incidentally, the fluid
contained in a gland is called a secretion. Injections of
thyroid substance could result in an increase of thyroid fluid
in the body, but this method led to no lasting improvement. The
organization of the body did not seem to respond
favourably to what was being administered. So far, the best
results have been obtained by administering thyroid fluid in
the form of these tablets, which are absorbed by the digestive
system. Introducing the substance of the thyroid into the
stomach and hence into the blood stream permeates the body with
the secretion of this gland. This remedy proves that the body
needs such a secretion. It shows, too, that when the thyroid is
functioning properly, its secretion passes into the blood in
minute amounts and penetrates the entire body. If the thyroid
secretion is introduced into the stomach rather than directly
into the body, it also finds its way into the blood stream. But
you understand, of course, that administering thyroid by way of
the stomach is effective only as long as it comes to circulate
in the blood. If the tablets are discontinued, the amount of
thyroid in the blood will decrease. So persons who receive
thyroid substance in this manner must take it
continually. Then it does remain effective.
It can
be said that this does, indeed, offer concrete proof for
materialism because we see that we only need to
administer certain substances to man in order to increase
his mental faculties. The same is true when the substance is
manufactured within the body, as is the case with thyroid
secretion. By thoroughly checking into all the experiments made
in this area, however, we discover something else.
Thyroid glands are quite large, as you may know, and are
located in the front of the neck. Within them are many small
glands, to the right and left, that are no bigger than the head
of a pin. They secrete a substance that is produced also in
other parts of the body. Similar, but not identical,
substances are secreted by small glands in various parts
of the body. Though it differs from the substance produced in
the small glands of the thyroid, such a substance, for
instance, is secreted in the adrenal glands. Tiny glands like
these are found in other parts of the body as well. In other
words, the body contains traces of substances secreted in
various parts of its organization. These substances are called
hormones. Such a hormone that permeates the body in minute
amounts is also contained in the tiny glands within the
thyroid.
You
may picture it this way. If you take a fish out of its watery
environment, it will die because it cannot exist in air.
Likewise, these hormonal glands, which resemble minute living
organisms, can survive only within the thyroid, the real
purpose of which is to provide a place where they can function.
When the thyroid is surgically removed, the body is deprived of
the hormones it produces. If these minute glands are removed
with the thyroid, the prognosis is negative, but if
enough of the thyroid containing them remains, then things
don't look so bad. Enough must be left to permit some of these
small glands to continue to function. When the entire thyroid
gland is cut out, the hormone producing glands are also removed
and that is harmful. Less radical surgery that doesn't remove
them all is successful. Preferably, then, just parts of the
thyroid should be removed; the hormonal glands should be
allowed to remain. But, if the secretion from the missing
amount of thyroid substance containing these glands is replaced
with tablets, so that the blood receives what it needs from
them and also from passing through the remaining glands, the
patient's general state of health may be expected to improve.
The matter is really rather complicated, and much depends on
how the thyroid secretion is produced.
When
an experiment is performed on a wether in which only part of
the thyroid is removed, leaving behind the part containing the
hormonal glands, then it is found that the secretion does not
have the medicinal value it would have had the entire gland
been removed. When the entire gland is taken, however, the
hormone produced by the hormonal glands combines with the
thyroid secretion, permeating the blood of the thyroid, and an
effective extract can be obtained. But, if only parts of the
wether's thyroid is removed, leaving the hormonal glands
behind, the thyroid extract will be less effective; then, such
tablets will not work as well. So you see that not everything
depends on the thyroid gland as such. Its purpose is only to
nourish the minute hormonal glands, which, as you can imagine,
were not discovered for a long time. Being so small, how could
they have been noticed?
From
all this you can understand that man's well-being simply
requires certain substances. You need only recall that his
mental faculties are altered also when he drinks wine, for
instance. Cheerfulness is engendered by drinking wine but,
later, things are likely to change. The next day his mood is
usually quite the opposite of cheerfulness! So it is with this
substance that is contained in the hormonal glands and that are
required in minute amounts throughout man's body. He makes use
of this substance, and animals need it, too. Much can be
accomplished by working with such substances in the
organism.
Well,
in recent times, this has led to a more attentive
examination of these delicate substances. What is the
basis of the efficacy of such substances as those secreted by
the hormonal glands? Gentlemen, you can understand this
only when you realize that the body is constantly subject to
processes of deterioration. It is a peculiarity of the
organism that harmful substances are forever being formed in
it. The substances secreted by the hormonal glands
neutralize the destructive effect of these poisons that form in
the body. It is a most interesting phenomenon that the
processes of life consist in man's constantly poisoning
himself, and then continuously counteracting the effects
of the poisons by means of these little glands placed within
his system. Take the case of the adrenal glands. If those
little hormonal glands work properly, man appears the way you
all look. But when they malfunction, his complexion turns
brown, a yellowish brown. Such an affliction is called
Addison's disease, because a Dr. Addison was the first to
observe it. We once had such a patient who was a member
of our society and who was looking for a cure here. This brown
discoloration and darkening of the skin is caused by certain
harmful substances in the body that are not neutralized by
those substances normally produced in the adrenal glands.
Likewise, mental retardation is caused by a lack of the
substances normally produced in the hormonal glands of the
thyroid.
When
administered in tablets, hormones that act as antidotes
are transmitted to the body, and their effects have led doctors
to pay closer attention to this entire sphere of
problems. It is interesting that this question also
arises in connection with Steinach's Theory. Since this
theory is somewhat related to our topic, it will be worthwhile
to consider them together. Steinach's theory is just about ten
years old now. About ten years ago, a professor in Vienna sent
a report of his experiments to the Academy of Sciences. Now
known as Steinach's theory, the report is based on the fact
that the body is continually permeated with hormones, the
products of minutely small glands. It is interesting that the
body seems to be constantly out to poison itself by its organs,
but tiny glands located everywhere in the system produce
antidotes. Starting at the neck, we have the hormonal
glands of the thyroid, which enable us to speak rather than to
stammer, and to connect thoughts with our speech. The hormones
produced in the adrenal glands prevent us from turning dark and
they ensure our attractive light complexion. Also,
hormonal glands of the reproductive organs emit small
amounts of delicate fluid. These glands, of the gonads, are
found in animals and humans, both male and female. They are
only slightly developed in the child, but when he or she
reaches puberty in the fourteenth or fifteenth year, they
become fully developed. In the case of the male, the gonads or
testes are located in the scrotum. They contain small hormonal
glands whose secretion penetrates the whole blood circulation
in minute dispersion.
Steinach's experiments have demonstrated that this
particular hormone has the characteristic of suppressing
the aging process. Scientists have been concerned with aging
for a long time, and long before Steinach's theory became
known, a physician-scientist in Paris named Metschnikoff
published some interesting things about the phenomena of old
age. His point of departure was that the body continually
poisons itself. He emphasized the fact that poisons are
constantly accumulating in the intestines and that man
ages from the effect of the microscopically small animal- or
plant-like creatures that produce them.
Now,
Steinach concluded that the aging process, this quite natural
and normal process of deterioration, can be counteracted. He
conducted his experiments mainly with rats; the most important
tests were with rats. In cases like these, it must be said that
experiments with animals are not completely applicable to
humans. Not everything that occurs in animals, especially in
rats, can be applied unreservedly to man. After all, the
organism of the animal is different from that of man, and I
must say, even if one has a low opinion of the size of the
human being when compared, for example, with the vastness of
the universe, yet a difference does exist between the physical
organism of a human and a rat.
Most
of the scientific results were obtained, as I have said,
through experimentation on rats, which are particularly
suitable for such tests. You see, the normal life span of the
rat is about two and a half years, and before it dies it
exhibits quite pronounced signs of aging. Rats are quite agile
and aggressive creatures, and when they age, they turn
dull and listless. They lose their fur in some spots and become
bald; in other spots, their fur turns bristly and ragged. Also,
they lose their appetite. Their age is shown particularly in
that, when males are locked together in a cage, they don't
fight but keep to themselves, and when an aging male rat is
placed with a female, it shows no interest in her.
Of
course, one has to be careful with such experiments because
rats are susceptible to all kinds of disease. They easily
become tubercular and frequently become infested with tape
worms or other intestinal parasites. Also, rats are
subject to infectious diseases. Therefore, if a rat
exhibits the symptoms I have described, it must be determined
whether they are caused by such diseases or are truly signs of
old age. So to conduct such experiments with rats one must
start with quite a number and constantly examine them for
intestinal parasites. Those with coarse fur or loss of hair due
to illness must be eliminated. Eventually, you will be left
with a few rats that are truly old.
Steinach experimented primarily with male rats. The aging
males that were listless and had bald spots, that had lost hair
and were no longer interested in the females, were treated in
the following manner. When not breeding, the gonad of the male
rat is found above the scrotum. This gland constantly
discharges fluid into tiny canals. It can be pictured like this
(drawing). Minute canals lead from the gonad into the spermatic
cord, from which the semen is discharged. The hormone of the
gonad passes through this canal and is mixed with the seminal
fluid, which becomes permeated with the hormone. When the
animal is young, this gland produces the hormone that passes
through these canals, or vasa deferentia. From them, it enters
the spermatic cord, so that the semen ejaculated by the male
that impregnates the female contains this hormone. It is also
diffused throughout the body. The principal part of the hormone
flows into the spermatic cord, while the rest is distributed in
minute amounts throughout the rat's organism by the blood.
Let us
now take the case of a rat that is getting old and feeble. The
feebleness and slackness of the body is indicated in that it
can no longer control its excretory functions, having
lost control over them. You may have heard that this happens to
people who are executed. This is what happens when the body
becomes slack. When the organism ages, too much of this hormone
flows into the spermatic cord, and too little is retained in
the body. The body then contains the toxic substances of
advanced age because the gonadal hormone is lacking and
therefore not effective as an antidote. This explains why
the rat's organism ages in the first place. It ages because
various toxic substances produced in the body come to permeate
it.
When a
child reaches puberty much of the hormonal substance
passes into the body. This is not the main point,
however. Because the organism is young and vigorous, it
can retain the hormone it receives and allow the surplus to be
discharged.
Now,
when the rat grows old, too much of the hormone is discharged.
So Steinach tied off the tiny canal with a small thread, thus
closing the passage from the gonad to the spermatic cord.
Since the hormone now could not leave the gonad, it entered the
body through the blood. You understand how that worked,
don't you? When you shut off a pipe, the fluid backs up. He
closed it off here (indicating drawing), made a ligature, as it
is called, and thus caused all of the hormone to penetrate the
body. The rat became lively again and even grew new hair. When
it was put with females, it showed sexual desire and attacked
them, though it could no longer impregnate them because the
operation had rendered it sterile. This was really what
happened.
You
see, it is actually quite simple. The aging body lets too much
hormone escape, but because of ligation it is retained
and the aging process is reversed, even if only
temporarily. It is quite interesting to observe how these
male rats become agile and youthful again after the ligature is
made in the spot I have indicated. These ligatures can be made
in a variety of ways. The way I have just drawn it is a method
that is rather complicated because an operation must be
performed to reach this spot. First, an incision must be
made on the outside, then the thread must be inserted around
the canal to tie it off. Experiments have been performed in
other ways, too. For example, the testicles, particularly in
the case of humans, were destroyed with X-rays, thereby holding
back the gonadal hormone. In short, all of these tests are
based on somehow retaining the hormone in the organism. You see
here the similarity with the thyroid gland. In it, too, it is a
question of getting the hormone into the blood. It is the same
with the gonadal hormone, except here it is done by closing
this canal when a person has become incontinent in old age.
Steinach has successfully continued these experiments over the
past ten years and today it can indeed be asserted that what
was proven to occur in rats applies also to a certain extent in
humans. Such experiments have been made on humans and similar
results obtained by using ligatures or by introducing the
hormones of a young person directly into the gonads. This has
been done with injections or by injecting directly into the
testicles the seminal fluid of a young animal. In other words,
all kinds of ways have been tried to reintroduce this
hormone into the body. Results have indeed been attained, and
although they have been generally somewhat exaggerated, they
cannot be denied. Experiments were, in fact, performed not only
on rats but also on old people who had become feeble; they then
regained some youthfulness. Of course, the effect doesn't last
too long. The human body can live only a certain number of
years and it is not at all certain yet whether the life
span can be lengthened by these means. A man can be somewhat
rejuvenated but, at present, one cannot lengthen his life. It
is feasible, however, that the life span, too, will eventually
be lengthened this way.
You
understand, though, that all these matters also have their
negative aspects. It is true, is it not, that some people are
poor sleepers? If one treats young people who do not sleep well
with sleeping pills of opium or morphine, they will certainly
sleep better, no doubt about it. One can't argue against it,
but the fact is that if sleeping pills and related chemical
medication is administered repeatedly to young people, it will,
after a while, weaken the body. It will have an increasing need
for the medication and will come to be unable to live without
it, thus becoming addicted to it. Then, in later life, one will
have to deal with a person who is not in full possession of his
health. So it is much better to try to cure insomnia by
psychological means, combatting it in a more inward way. If the
patient is encouraged to think and concentrate on one word, he
will gradually gain the strength from within to fall asleep.
This method is much better because, this way, man does not
weaken himself. The effects of sleeping pills are uncontested;
it is indisputable that a person sleeps better with them,
but it should really be considered from another aspect. One
should try to induce sleep from an inward, mental direction. Of
course, this method is more difficult and is related somewhat
to education. If children are raised correctly, they can easily
be induced to get the right amount of sleep every night. Then
later in life people needn't be given sleeping pills if they
have been treated properly in school.
These
rejuvenation methods can really be compared to taking sleeping
pills. Yes, gentlemen, the following is of particular
interest. I have told you that Metschnikoff had already dealt
with the symptoms of old age; as yet, Steinach's
experiments were unknown. You may be surprised to learn
that a thoroughly materialistic doctor recommended that his
patients read things like Goethe's Faust! Really,
they were told to read books like Faust; this was
supposed to rejuvenate them.
There
is much truth in this recommendation. If in old age one has an
interest that completely occupies one's soul and spirit,
something that fills one with enthusiasm, this will make one
youthful. The meaning of “enthusiasm” is close to
that of “inspiration.” Something spiritual enters
the mind. Otherwise, the term used would not be
“enthusiasm” but “embodiment,” which
connotes a material process. When addressing the public, even
materialists do not say, “Let us be full of
embodiment!” Though they deny the spirit they
nevertheless say, “Let us be full of enthusiasm!”
Being filled with enthusiasm is indeed a source of
rejuvenation. Of course, one cannot prove this in rats!
It is a source of rejuvenation in humans, however, and if
observations in life were made in this direction, one would
discover that, depending upon a man's health and stamina,
whatever rejuvenation could be brought about would be
attained much more easily if he could be allowed sufficient
time to engage in some mental activity. Mental or spiritual
activity has the peculiar effect of holding together and
keeping strong the glandular walls. If a man is interested only
in superficial matters all his life, his glands and vascular
walls tend to become slack more quickly than if he has an
interest in spiritual and mental activities. If he has
been educated correctly as a child, and then given enough time
to permeate himself rightly with spirit, he will not need such
ligatures because he will maintain his strength on his own and
his body will retain what it requires.
It is
a different matter with the thyroid gland. Here, medical means
must quite often be resorted to because it is extremely
complicated to improve it with, well, spiritual means. Yet,
here, too, results will be attained and have, in fact, already
been achieved. If a patient repeats certain sayings day
after day in a song-like speech, carefully prescribed in a
definite way, the size of the thyroid gland will decrease.
So it
must be said that hormone therapy is just as effective as
medications are for insomnia. It would be better, however, if
humans would at last begin to think about accomplishing
things in other than just materialistic ways and would finally
consider giving civilization the opportunity that would afford
everyone a chance for a certain degree of spiritual activity.
Then these manipulations wouldn't be valued quite so highly,
because it would be recognized that one becomes feeble in old
age in the first place because of the negative aspects of our
civilization. All these operations on humans that give them a
few months of rejuvenation in old age basically serve only to
equalize what has already been damaged. From the medical
standpoint it is a brilliant, remarkable accomplishment, but
when it is viewed in a larger cultural context, one sees its
darker side as well.
Of
course, we must consider something else, too. I said earlier
that administering sleeping pills to younger persons actually
weakens them. If rejuvenation treatments are resorted to
in elderly persons who are shrivelled up and can barely grope
about, it is naturally a source of great happiness for them to
be able to act a bit lively once more. One doesn't have to be
quite so concerned that such a rejuvenation treatment
could be harmful to them because it is performed at an age when
it becomes difficult to check for any damaging after
effects.
Our
materialistic world conception is attaining remarkable
results today, but when they are seen in a larger cultural
context, they take on a different appearance. This is why I
always stress that people should be concerned with
protecting children in school, and also in later years,
to prevent them from getting premature symptoms of old age.
This problem is not confined to a certain segment of society.
Nowadays people hardly thirty run around with terribly bald
heads, particularly those who belong to the so-called affluent
professions. Premature baldness is caused by the unnatural
forms of higher education. It would be much wiser to
educate people in such a way that the body would be in a
position to maintain everything for as long as it retains
its life forces.
This
is what I can tell you about these matters. It is always
interesting to view such things from both sides, which,
indeed, they have. Anything else concerning this I shall
talk about another time.
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