The Treatment and Prognosis in Myxedema

When Dr. George Murray 1 read his classic paper before the British Medical Association in July, 1891, on the treatment of myxedema by the administration of the thyroid gland of sheep, the medical world in general proclaimed, and quite correctly, that there had been discovered another specific remedy for what had usually been regarded as a hopeless condition. Marvelous as the cure may be in most instances, it is obvious to any one who has observed a group of these patients under treatment over a long period, that even though the diagnosis is correct and the preparation used in treatment is potent, there is often a failure, either partial or complete, to effect a cure. This may be due to several reasons which will be considered later, but undoubtedly the chief cause is the careless administration of a drug which must be given with the greatest exactness in order to