medical procedures of the 1950-1960 era

[FIELDRW@aol.com]

In a message dated 3/4/99 2:16:31 AM Central Standard Time,
maay100@bgumail.bgu.ac.il writes:
  It was also abandoned when it was found by L H Hempelmann and
 colleagues that children who had been irradiated to 'shrink the thymus',
 the idea being to avoid crib death, were later subject to an increased risk
 of thyroid cancer (Pifer and Hempelmann Ann N Y Acad Sci 1964; Hempelmann
 LH et al, J Natl Cancer Inst 1967;38:317-41, 114:838-48 through to Shore et
 al. J Natl Cancer Inst 1985;74:1177-84.
 
         The thymus of course is one of the key organs of the immune system
 and is critical to the generation of immune diversity of lymphocytes,
 particularly T cells, so important at an early age, which may account for
 its increased size in childhood.
 
                                 Michael Quastel MD PhD
                                 Nuclear Medicine
                                 Soroka Medical Center
                                 Faculty of Health Sciences
                                 Ben Gurion University of the Negev
                                 Beer Sheva, Isra >>

Michael,

Irradiation of the thymus was common practice well into the 1950s in the
United States as was x-ray irradiation to the head for elimination of lymphoid
tissue in the middle ear.
I received irradiation to the thymus in 1954 and irradiation to the head (3
treatments) for partial hearing loss in 1964.  I have not met another person
that had both of these procedures.  If so, I would love to talk with them.

Bill Field

R. William Field, Ph.D.
University of Iowa
Department of Preventive Medicine
Division of Epidemiology

bill-field@uiowa.edu
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