Abstract
The use of organ extracts to treat psychiatric disorder in the interwar period is an episode in the history of psychiatry which has largely been forgotten. An analysis of case-notes from The Maudsley Hospital from the period 1923–1938 shows that the prescription of extracts taken from animal testes, ovaries, thyroids, and other organs was widespread within this London Hospital. This article explores the way in which Maudsley doctors justified these treatments by tying together psychological theories of the unconscious with experimental data drawn from laboratory studies of human organs. It explores the logic behind these treatments and examines beliefs about their efficacy. The connection between this historical episode and current research in endocrinology and psychology is explored. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Highlights
The use of organ extracts to treat psychiatric disorder in the interwar period is an episode in the history of psychiatry which has largely been forgotten
Mapother was a former asylum doctor who had served in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and had worked at the Maudsley in the immediate postwar period when it operated as a specialist treatment center for the Ministry of Pensions (Jones, 2010)
As superintendent of the Maudsley from 1923, Mapother focused attention on acute and mild mental disorders. His long-term goal was to establish a multidisciplinary research facility, employing full-time scientists, and this, he believed, was the only way to understand severe mental illness. He died in 1940, just eight years before the establishment of the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), whose laboratories were to achieve international recognition and which still serves as the leading British Institution for research in psychiatry, neuroscience, and clinical psychology
Summary
Maudsley Hospital 1923–1938, Bethlem Royal Hospital Archives and Museum (BRHAD: MH 1923–1938). One 21-year-old woman treated with thyro-ovarian extract had been assessed by William Moodie, the deputy medical superintendent who had trained in medicine, physiology, and pathology and psychology and had served in the RAMC (Anon., 1960) Moodie diagnosed her with “anxiety state” and “scoliosis” and claimed that her illness had. She was discharged shortly afterwards with Barkas’ notes that she was “recovered,” “free from doubts,” and “completely well” apart from the fact that she had since developed amenorrhea (CFM 003.543) This new physical symptom was a result of the glandular treatments, the doctors were pleased that the patients’ mental state had improved and expected her periods to return in due course. In 1924, one 52-year-old woman was admitted and diagnosed with “stress (following death of husband).” She was given bed rest for three months during which time she did not improve and was placed on “thyroid in large doses (‘shock’ therapy).”. The symptom in double-quotes refers to the patient’s own description of his problem
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