_Thyroid Treatment of Idiocy._--My sketch of the treatment of Idiocy would be incomplete without an allusion to the injection or internal administration of a preparation of the thyroid gland of the sheep, a method of treatment brought into notoriety by Professors Kocher and Schiff, on the continent, and by Professor Victor Horsley, Dr. Murray, and others in this country. Numerous cases have been published claiming successful results, and the thyroid treatment has been spoken of as a cure for at least one of the forms of idiocy.
Without quite endorsing this sweeping and enthusiastic statement, there cannot be a doubt that this method opens up a hopeful vista in the treatment of idiocy; in fact, Dr. Ireland has furnished me with the particulars of a girl, aged five years, treated by thyroid juice, in whom "the improvement was so decided that it seemed an escape from idiocy into normal intelligence."[42]
A striking instance of the good results of thyroid treatment has lately occurred in the Eastern Counties' Asylum, the particulars of which have been kindly furnished to me by Mr. Kirkby, the Resident Medical Officer. Esther C., aged 19, was admitted Nov. 8th, 1894, with marked symptoms of Sporadic Cretinism. She was at once put on thyroid treatment, beginning with half a five-grain tabloid gradually increased to a tabloid once, twice, and sometimes three times a day, intermitting them for short periods. Latterly, she has been taking one tabloid a day. Under this treatment, she has gained 10 lbs. in weight, and has grown 5 inches; the features are not so coarse, the previous myxœdematous condition of the subcutaneous tissues has subsided, the outline of the features having become more defined, and the skin which was formerly dry and rough, has become soft and naturally moist, having lost a great deal of its puffiness; but the most obvious change in the patient is the disappearance of the two prominent elastic swellings (pseudo-lipomata) which formerly occupied the posterior triangle of the neck on each side. The mental condition has also improved, she takes more interest in amusements, and her voluntary movements are much more rapid. This patient is still under observation, and the results hitherto attained afford a favourable illustration of the beneficial effects of this mode of treatment.