Abstract
Every clinician must have observed from time to time the appearance of sugar in the urine after prolonged use of thyroid extract in patients.
Magnus-Levy 1 writes that glycosuria may be noted from large dosages of thyroid in man as well as in dogs. Since glycosuria may occur as a result of thyroid feeding, it was thought that the high percentage of iodine in the gland of the ox might be the determining factor in the appearance of sugar in the urine after prolonged use of the drug.
According to Hammarsten 2 the thyroid of man contains 0.34 per cent. iodine; the thyroid of ox contains 0.86 per cent. It was thought that thyroid which is iodine free must have the reverse effect on the blood-sugar contents. It is a well established fact that the thyroid of newborn animals does not contain iodine. Thyroids from such calves were procured from the slaughter house immediately after killing and extracts from the weighed glands prepared. The alcoholic extracts in Ringers solution were injected intravenously or subcutaneously'or administered by the stomach tube to dogs. The extracts were prepared in the same manner as the pancreatic extracts by Banting and Best.
After weighing the thyroids they were cut in very small pieces and placed in 0.2 per cent. HCl in 95 per cent. alcohol and allowed to stand for two days. They mere then macerated with quartz and filtered, or when using large amounts first macerated and then put in a press and filtered. The clear filtrate was evaporated to dryness in a warm air current. On the next day or on the third day the dry residue was emulsified with 25 C.C. Ringers solution. 25 C.C. of this solution contained the thyroid residue from 10, 20 or 50 grams gland.
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