31 - Malariotherapy

Malariotherapy -- infecting comatose syphilis patients with malaria to cure them of the disease -- was once the cutting edge of medicine, and earned its inventor Julius Wagner-Jauregg the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1927. In this episode, we're going to talk about the fascinating story behind this remarkable treatment, from the murky beginnings of syphilis through its sordid sexual connotations, to the birth of modern psychiatry and Nazi experiments. Plus, there's a brand new #AdamAnswers about whether or not ancient doctors thought hair served to store semen (seriously).  Listen to all this and more in Episode 31 of Bedside Rounds, a tiny podcast about fascinating stories in clinical medicine. Sources: Crellato E et al, "The Hippocratic treatise 'On glands': the first document on lymphoid tissue on lymph nodes," Leukemia. Retrieved online at https://www.nature.com/articles/2404618 Farhi D, Dupin N, Origins of syphilis and management in theimmunocompetent patient: Facts and controversies. Clinics in Dermatology (2010) 28, 533–538 Frith J, "Syphilis – Its early history and Treatment until Penicillin and the Debate on its Origins," Journal of Military and Veterans' Health, 20(4), retrieved online at: http://jmvh.org/article/syphilis-its-early-history-and-treatment-until-penicillin-and-the-debate-on-its-origins/ Gelder MG, "Biological Psychiatry in Perspective," British Medical Bulletin. 1996;2 (No. 3H01-4G7) Howes OD et al, "Julius Wagner-Jauregg, 1857-1940," American Journal of Psychiatry, April 2009 Volume 166 Number 4, Volume 166, Issue 4, April, 2009, pp. 409-409. Karamanou M et al, "Julius Wagner-Jauregg (1857-1940): Introducing fever therapy in the treatment of neurosyphilis." Psychiatriki. 2013 Jul-Sep;24(3):208-12. Kent, ME and Romanelli F. Reexamining Syphilis: An Update on Epidemiology, ClinicalManifestations, and Management, The Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2008 February, Volume 42 Kreston R, "Pyromania! On Neurosyphilis and Fighting Fire with Fire," Body Horrors blog on Discover. Retrieved online at: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/bodyhorrors/2014/05/31/pyromania-syphilis-malaria/#.WnTvHKinE2x Martin TW, "Paul's argument from Nature for the Veil in 1 Corinthians 11:13-15: A Testicle Instead of a Head Covering," Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 123, No. 1 pp 75-84. Rothschild, BM, "History of Syphilis Clinical Infectious Diseases." 2005; 40:1454–63 Simpson WM, "Artificial fever therapy of syphilis," JAMA. 1935;105(26):2132-2140. Tampa M et al, "Brief History of Syphilis." J Med Life. 2014 Mar 15; 7(1): 4–10. Tsay CJ, "Julius Wagner-Jauregg and the Legacy of Malarial Therapy for the Treatment of General Paresis of the Insane," Yale J Biol Med. 2013;86(2): 245–254 Wagner-Jauregg J, "The history of malaria treatment of general paralysis." Am J Psychiatry. 1946;02: 577-582