THE RELATION OF CHEMISTRY TO HEALTH AND DISEASE* A great philosopher once remarked, "To pity distress is but human, to relieve i t is Godlike." If these words are true, the chemist and physician are the most divine among men, for they are ever cooperating in an effort to relieve human suffering. From the earliest times, these two human benefactors united their arts and efforts to destroy the enemies of our health. That their cooperation is essential in combating disease is shown by their work. The chemist investigates the ranses of dijeair, and prcpares remedies for them. . . He then hands over the results of his investigations to the physician who administers them to humanity. Such is the method by which the world is made a better place in which to live. Most of the discoveries which have done so much to advance the medical science are products of the chemical laboratory. These discoveries are not confined to any one particular branch of medicine, for the chemist does not confine his work. He lends his helping hand to the one which is in most need of his services. The fields in which he has been most successful are: (1) in prepreparin~ venting- disease, (2) in . . antitoxins, (3) in preparing anesPAUL MICBLI thetics, (4) in preparing specific drugs for specific diseases, ( 5 ) in the study of the organs of secretion, and (6) in the study of the constituents and needs of our body. Preventing Disease The prevention of disease is the keynote of modern medical practice. Pasteur's discovery, that diseases are caused by germs which enter the blood and multiply on an enormous scale, served as a starting point on which chemists based their work. It was found that infectious germs were carried about from place to place by such low forms of life as rats, flies, and mos-
* Prize-winning high-schwl essay, 1927-28.
quitoes; and that they were most numerous in unsanitary places. A movement was immediately directed toward the extermination of these insects, and the improvement of the sanitary conditions. Breeding places of flies and mosquitoes were destroyed, and in many cases where this was impossible, chemicals were prepared to kill the eggs. Cities established chemical methods of purifying the water supply, and suitable places for the disposal of the waste. Sanitary laws were put into force, and the public was instructed to observe them for its own welfare. The result of this movement was an immediate drop in the number of sick persons. The improvement of the sanitary conditions alone has done more to prevent disease than all the medicines to cure them. The man to whom we are greatly indebted for the prevention of many diseases in surgery is Lord Lister. Lister discovered that the fevers and deaths which usually followed surgical operations were due to hacteria which gained access to the tissues of a wound. To prevent this, he developed a careful system of disinfecting everything which came in direct contact with the cells of the body. He invented antiseptic dressings which excluded bacteria, and assisted the tissues to heal themselves. The adoption of Lister's antiseptic system in surgery has done away with a great deal of unnecessary suffering, and has made possible difficult operations. Preparation of Antitoxins The preparation of antitoxins was first started by Louis Pasteur, a great chemist and human benefactor. And i t may he truly said that Pasteur did for medicine what Lister did for surgery. Pasteur discovered that diseases are caused by germs which enter the blood, and multiply on an enormous scale. To prevent their development, he prepared antitoxins. In so doing, he founded a new branch of medicine known as serum therapy by which antitoxins are developed in the blood of animals for inoculation against disease. Today this science forms one of man's most useful weapons in combating disease. With the aid of the chemist in isolating pure principles of antitoxins from the fluids which are now injected in our blood, diseases will he more quickly and thoroughly destroyed. Anesthetics Revolutionize Surgery Ancient surgery was extremely barbarous. The flow of blood was stopped by applying a red hot iron to the wound. Operations were usually performed without anesthetics, and they were not only difficult to perform, but caused great suffering. For these reasons, operations were avoided as much as possible. But the discovery and use of anesthetics immediately revolutionized surgery. For operations could now he performed under the most favorable conditions without suffering to the patient.
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For this great blessing mankind is chiefly indebted to Horace Wells who used nitrous oxide, W. T. C. Morton who used ether, and Sir James Simpson who used chloroform. The first of these two men employed anesthetics in dentistry, while Simpson employed ether and chloroform in obstetrics. The success of these three men immediately brought into prominence the value of anesthetics, and their use has been steadily increasing until today they are used almost universally in all forms of surgical operations. It will be noticed that these compounds are products of the chemical laboratory. The formulas for nitrous oxide, ether, and chloroform are N20, (C2H&0, and CHCls, respectively. Anesthetics are invaluable in surgery. By their use surgeons can perform difficult operations without pain to the patient. This accounts for the large number of operations which are being performed today; thus restoring life and health where we cannot look for help from medicines. Hayes and Moon in their book "Modern History" say: "These three men did more to relieve human suffering than Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon did to cause it."
Specific Drugs In an attempt to relieve human suffering as soon as possible, and to destroy disease with the same certainty that two and two make four, the chemist tries to prepare specific drugs for specific diseases. This task is entirely an afiair of the chemical laboratory. The plan of action is two-fold: (1) to improve natural remedies, and (2) to prepare specific medicaments from some promising compound. In the first case, the chemist starts out with a known natural remedy; makes an exhaustive study of it, and with the information thus derived, improves the natural product. An instance of the success of the chemist with this method was the improvement of the remedy for leprosy by preparing pure acids from the disagreeable chaulmoogra oil. By combining these acids with ethyl alcohol, an agreeable drug has been prepared which can be used hypodermically with great success against leprosy. The second method of attack is to start with some promising compound and alter the formation of the molecule until the desired compound is obtained. This method is the more difficult of the two, since success depends upon the compound chosen and the perseverance of the experimenter. The first man to succeed by this method was Paul Ehrlich, a German chemist and physician. He started out to find a specific for that loathsome and widespread disease, syphilis; and he chose for his compound a dye. For two years he labored together with a host of assistant chemists. 605 compounds were prepared, and each one of these was a failure. One would think that he would have abandoned the project long before. But it seems to he a characteristic of the chemist never to give up. Ehrlich
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was justly rewarded for his perseverance for his "606" compound, better known as salvarsan, proved to be the object of his search. This discovery was one of the outstanding achievements of the nineteenth century in medicine. It was a great achievement for Ehrlich, but it was a greater one for chemistry because it demonstrated the chemist's power of transforming one form of matter into another form more serviceable to man. The work of Paul Ehrlich with dyes led to the discovery of many powerful antiseptics and selective poisons for infectious microbes, and i t opened the road to an entirely new way of combating disease. The success of the chemist in this field has been great. Many more useful medicines have been prepared from the black and foul-smelling coal tar. Notable among these are mercurochrome and gentian violet for blood poisoning, acriflavine for gonorrhea, and rivanol as an antiseptic for internal use. In the whole history of medicine only two absolute specifics have been found. They are quinine for malaria and the famous compound, salvarsan, for African sleeping sickness and syphilis. Chemists are spending a great deal of time in this field, and as a result of their efforts many near specifics have been prepared. The value of specifics is great, and one of the chief aims of the chemist is to discover specifics for each disease. The only way that we can help him accomplish this task is by giving him our hearty support. The Organs of Secretion Within recent years chemists have devoted considerable time to the study of the organs of secretion. These organs were not known a century ago, nor was their existence suspected by physicians. The secretions of these glands are of vital importance to life and health since they control the growth, the digestion of food, the actions of various parts of the body, and produce powerful drugs which combat disease. The glands of the body are divided into two groups: (1) glands with ducts, such as the salivary glands and the pancreas; and (2) dudless glands, the most important of which are the thyroid, parathyroid, thymus, gonads, pineal, pituitary, adrenals, and ductless pancreas. Glands having ducts pour their secretion into the stomach and intestines for digestive purposes, while the ductless glands pour theirs directly into the blood stream. The secretions of these glands are known as hormones; they are chemical in nature, but extremely poisonous. Chemists have determined the chemical composition of some of these drugs, and now they are prepared artificially. Adrenalin, the active principle of the adrenals, which are located just above the kidneys, was isolated by John Abel, of The Johns Hopkins University, and later a Japanese chemist, J. Takamine, obtained the principle in pure crystal form. Its composition was finally determined, and i t is now prepared artificially.
Adrenalin is a very important drug. When injected hypodermically, it allays very quickly the spasms of acute bronchial asthma. When applied externally to a bleeding wound, it stops hemorrhage instantly, thus enabling the surgeon to perform bloodless operations. Adrenalin strengthens and stimulates the action of the heart which makes it invaluable in the treatment of pneumonia. This drug is also used extensively in preparing greatly weakened or aged persons to withstand the shock of an operation. Dr. E. C. Kendall of the Mayo Foundation isolated thyroxin, the active principle of the thyroid glands, which regulates the combustion of our food. This principle is so very active that an occasional dose of a minute fraction of a gram is sufficientto cure cases of cretinism and myxedema. For many years this drug was very expensive, due to its scarcity, and its artificial preparation had been looked upon by many physicians. Finally, Dr. C. R. Harrington and Professor George Barger prepared a drug from iodine and a coal-tar product, said to be fully as effective upon human beings as the thyroxin obtained from the gland. The discovery of this drug was another achievement of the chemist, and the reward of ten years of research by organic chemists throughout the world. Another great triumph of the chemist in relieving human suffering was brought about by the discovery of insulin, the active principle of the ductless pancreas. Thousands of diabetic sufferers are now finding relief by its use. Chemists are making a thorough study of the other organs of secretion, especially the pituitary glands which control the growth. The isolation and artificial preparation of the active principles of these glands will be another great stride toward the permanent establishment of health, and the abolition of defective and ill-formed beings. The Constituents and Needs of Our Body We have already seen that the normal functioning of the organs of secretion is essential to good health. There is still another condition upon which good health depends and that is a proper adjustment of the components of our blood. The importance of a knowledge of the composition of the blood under normal conditions is obvious. Once determined, the missing elements and compounds of the blood when it is abnormal can be supplied, and good health would naturally follow. The chemist has already made some progress in determining some of its compounds, and we may expect the solution of this problem in the course of time. The material needed by the blood to meet the needs in the body is supplied by our food. Hence, those foods should be eaten which will give the required substances. These substances are termed vitamins, and traces of their presence is found in nearly all fresh foods. From a lack of vitamins
growth may cease and various diseases result. Dr. E. V. McCollum has designated these substances by the letters of the alphabet in the order in which they have been discovered. They may be described in the following manner: Vitamin A-promotes growth and prevents blindness, Vitamin B-prevents beri beri and whets the appetite, Vitamin C-prevents scurvy, Vitamin D-prevents rickets, Vitamin E-promotes fertility. Chemists have made some progress in finding the substances which furnish these vitamins, but very little is known about them. To discover their character and composition is now one of the objects of the chemist. The solution of this problem is awaited by mankind, and again we must look in the direction of the chemist. Conclusion Thus, in six realms, we have seen the work and achievements of the chemist. But the chemist has only begun his work, and chemico-medical research is really in its infancy. Through the cooperation of the chemist and physician, the medical science has advanced by leaps and bounds. All this goes to prove conclusively the vast importance of chemistry and the prophetic words of Louis Pasteur when he said: "Science is the soul and prosperity of nations, and the living source of all progress." Bibliography "Research in Medical Practice." Science, 66, 260 (Sept. 16, 1927). "Interdependence of Science and Medicine," Lord Lister, Sci. Mo., 25, 193-212 (1927). "Century of Medical Progress," H. Rolleston, Quar., 245, 170-89 (July, 1925). "Life of Pasteur," R. Vallery-Radot, Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc. ''Discovery of the Spirit and Service of Science," Sir Richard Gregory, Chemical Foundation, Inc. "The Future Independence and Progress of American Medicine in the Age of Chemistry," by a Committee of American Scientists, Chemical Foundation, Inc. "Modern History," by Hayes and Moon. "The Romance of Chemistry," by William Foster, The Century Co. "The Story of Chemistry," by Floyd L. Darrow, The Bobbs Murill Co.
