Читать книгу Old Age Deferred. The causes of old age and its postponement by hygienic and therapeutic measures онлайн

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In Graves’s disease, with exaggeration of the thyroid activity, there is, on the other hand, an increased elimination of the most important constituent of the skeletal tissues: calcium carbonate, and this occurs also in acromegaly and diabetes, in which conditions the thyroid is very frequently altered (Lorand^[35]).

Osteomalacia, which is associated with an enormous elimination of calcium carbonate is, as we at present consider, due to an exaggerated ovarian activity (Fehling), and can be favorably influenced by castration or, by what would be more reasonable, thyroid treatment.

No less powerful than that of the thyroid is the influence of the pituitary body upon the skeleton, especially upon the hands, feet, and skull. And if we wish to demonstrate how much the ductless glands influence the looks of a person, it is sufficient to point out the great changes that take place in the face of a patient with acromegaly. This disease makes such persons look very much as “Punch” is depicted.

The skin and complexion of persons suffering from changes in the ductless glands are also very different from normal. Thus Addison’s disease, due, as well known, to a degeneration of the adrenals, makes a white man look more or less like an Indian, and there is a pigmented skin also in persons affected by the