Читать книгу Old Age Deferred - Arnold Lorand - Страница 19

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We occasionally witness the peculiar fact that persons who live very moderately and eat very sparingly, and who totally abstain from alcohol, nevertheless become old before their time, while, on the other hand, there are those who, in spite of having been addicted all their lives to the pleasures of a bounteous table and unstinted quantity of wine or spirits, yet enjoy a green old age. We had an opportunity of observing an old gentleman of 76 (some say he was really older) belonging to our own profession, with whom we had the pleasure of traveling from Lisbon to Paris in the same small railway compartment. This gentleman, notwithstanding his age, was in full possession of all his mental powers, of which he has given remarkable proofs in his recent publications which might have well been written by a man younger by some scores of years, and which, in fact, convey that impression. This gentleman’s age cannot be gauged by his words, neither was it shown by the hearty appetite with which he partook of the six courses of the dinner, nor by the enjoyment with which he disposed of his bottle of claret; and he smoked a large cigar afterward with such appreciation that we began to envy the old man. We almost believe that he stood the long-continuous journey of thirty-seven hours much better than we did, and we were surprised at his fresh appearance the following morning after the discomforts of a night in a small berth of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-lits, half the size of the ordinary American Pullman car berth. We must remark, however, at once, that such instances as these are exceptional. Nature is always just, and even here we have an illustration of the Golden Rule, for such persons inherit the health of their fathers.

Even character and appearance may be inherited by offspring. The height of parents is, as a rule, though not in every case, inherited by their children, as also are many features of their external appearance. As we have seen in the previous chapter, the size of an individual and his outward appearance are dependent on the internal secretions of the ductless glands; and as these qualities are inherited, so we may presume that the properties of the ductless glands, which produce these effects, may also be inherited; and that this is not a vague supposition is demonstrated, we think, in a paper we read on the subject of heredity at the German Congress of Internal Medicine at Leipzig, in 1907, in which we showed that the alterations of the ductless glands are inherited with remarkable frequency. Thus Graves’s disease can frequently be inherited, and the children descended from such parents, especially after puberty, often have a small goiter. In such cases a slight protuberance of the eyes can also be noticed; they are frequently very nervous, and any sudden shock will be sufficient to induce a typical case of Graves’s disease. Oesterreicher^[112] found 9 cases of exophthalmic goiter in one family. The frequent instances of heredity in Graves’s disease are insisted upon by Brouwer^[113] and other authors.

Degenerative changes of the pituitary body may also be inherited. Thus Bonardi and Schwoner and others also showed cases of acromegaly of hereditary origin.

Diabetes is, as we have said, a disease of the ductless glands, and we have especially emphasized, on previous occasions, how frequently, if not invariably, diabetes originates through heredity. We have also shown in a communication published in the Practitioner, of London, in October, 1903, that the children of diabetic persons have an inherited tendency to alimentary glycosuria, which occurs very frequently among them.

Myxœdematous persons, as a rule, have children displaying symptoms of congenital myxœdema, and cretins have cretinous children. The very interesting case has been published of a woman who, until the age of 40, had two normal children. She then acquired a goiter, and the child that was born later was a cretin with a goiter (Lanz).

Parents suffering from diseases in which the thyroid has degenerated, such as chronic tuberculosis, malaria, syphilis, and other cachectic diseases, have children whose growth is slow, and who remain backward physically and mentally. Such children easily acquire any infectious disease. Tuberculosis, as we have shown at the International Congress on Tuberculosis in Paris, in 1905, is remarkably frequent among them. We can easily appreciate the fact, if we realize that the children of such parents in whom the thyroid has degenerated through disease are born usually with a congenital atrophy of the thyroid gland, which has been proved by Gamier and Perrando. These children have inherited from their forefathers the bad qualities of their thyroid, and this will also explain why such children, when fully grown up, will not remain, as a rule, for so long a time as youthful looking as other persons who have inherited healthy thyroids; they early become aged-looking and, also, as a rule, their lives are shortened owing to their tendency to contract easily all kinds of infections.

Evidence founded on experiments is at our disposal to prove our assertion that irregularities of the thyroid are inherited by offspring. Professor Lanz,^[114] of Amsterdam, formerly an assistant of Professor Kocher in Bern, has extirpated the thyroid gland of goats, and he found that in each case the young of such animals, as compared with normal kids of the same age, remained backward in growth. There can thus be no doubt that the qualities of the ductless glands of the parents are inherited by their descendants.

We often find diseases of the various ductless glands present among members of the same families. We can trace, not infrequently, diabetes, Graves’s disease, etc., and acromegaly, occurring in different members of the same family, and this will be observed most often in the case of diabetes and Graves’s disease. Thus I have observed in the case of two fathers (coming from the same city in Hungary, but belonging to different nationalities) diabetes, and their daughters had protuberant eyes; they had a small goiter, and the typical fingers characteristic of Graves’s disease, emaciated and pointed like those of the Madonna of Perugino, which have been mentioned already by other authors as symptoms of Graves’s disease. There was no tachycardia as yet in either of these two cases which had Graves’s disease. Very probably any mental shock, as in so many other cases, would here have caused sudden development into Graves’s disease.

We have already noted that in syphilis and other cachectic diseases such as alcoholism, malaria, tuberculosis, etc., the thyroid gland becomes degenerated (Garnier, Hertoghe, etc.), and that the fœtuses of such parents demonstrate congenital atrophy of the thyroid (Garnier^[115] and Perrando^[116]). We can thus understand the observations of Hertoghe, who found that nearly all cases of infantile or congenital myxœdema were born of parents suffering from the above-named diseases. Of very great value, also, is the observation of Professor Pel.^[117] He diagnosed a case of syphilis in the father, myxœdema in the daughter and acromegaly in the son.

As shown by many observers, including ourself, the ductless glands stand together in a very close relationship, and thus we may find that when one member of a family shows an alteration of the ductless glands, we may discover in the same family other members affected by alterations of the same or other ductless glands. The case of Pel is a fine illustration of this point; the syphilis of the father with its morbid influence on his thyroid resulting in the hereditary transmission of a degenerated thyroid to the daughter, and the consequent supervention of myxœdema. The son had an altered condition of the pituitary body, and thus developed acromegaly. The altered condition of the pituitary body may have been secondary to the previous alteration of the thyroid inherited congenitally, if we take into consideration the fact that, as I showed in a communication to the International Congress of Medicine in Madrid, in 1903, acromegaly is due to primary alterations in the thyroid which, in the same way as is demonstrated by experiments on animals, may lead secondarily to alterations of the pituitary closely connected with the former gland. The qualities of the sexual glands can also be inherited. Thus, there are cases of mothers whose menstruation began very early, i.e., at the age of 9 or 10, and lasted until the age of 56 to 60, and who had many children, among whom were daughters showing similar conditions. On the other hand, we may see difficulties of menstruation in the mother also inherited by the daughter.

If the bad qualities of the ductless glands are inherited, it is only logical to expect the same for the good qualities also. It stands on this basis that we may frequently find longevity in the same family. Longevity, as illustrated by the many facts adduced in this book from the field of clinical and experimental observations, is closely allied with a thorough performance of the functions of the ductless glands, especially of the thyroid gland; if these are in good condition, and especially if proper hygiene is also observed at the same time, longevity will follow. The good condition of the ductless glands is largely dependent upon a life based on hygienic principles, although when these glands are of the best quality they may stand a good deal and not degenerate so soon, even after excessive activity following injudicious or fast living.

But if a long life be dependent on a good state of the ductless glands and if the qualities of these are inherited—which cannot be doubted after the foregoing observations on heredity,—it must necessarily follow that longevity is inherited too, and this is a fact which can be proved by a large number of observations.

If we study the history of persons who have lived over 100 years, we shall find in nearly every case that their forefathers, or their descendants, or other relatives of the same blood have, as a rule, also lived to a great age. This will be illustrated by a few examples which we will now give.

In the year 1724 there died in Hungary in a village called Köprös, about ten miles from Temesvar, a man, Petraz Czarten, who was 185 years of age. When he died, his son was 95.

We have already referred to the case of a man named Thomas Parr in our chapter on the influence of the sexual glands upon vitality and long life. This man died in 1635 in his 153d year, and after death his body was dissected by the great physician Harvey. That longevity had existed in his family was shown by the fact that one of his female descendents died in Cork, in Ireland, at the age of 103.

In the year 1797, in a village near Bergen, there died a man, Joseph Surrington, in his 160th year. That he left a young widow, after having been married several times, is not so extraordinary if we consider the facts in the chapter in this book on the influence of the sexual glands upon vitality and long life. When this man died his eldest son was 103 and his youngest only 9!

In a Finnish village near St. Petersburg there lived an old peasant woman, Maria Willamow. She was born in 1692, and died on September 10, 1807, after having lived 115 years, 9 months, and 4 days; her brother had already died in 1768 at the age of 108. All her relatives and descendants were remarkable for their longevity.

Jean Thuret was a soldier, and in spite of having been wounded in several battles, he lived beyond the age of 104. His mother died when 118 and his uncle at 130. The high old age of many of these patriarchs is proved by legal evidence. Thus, H. Jenkins, from Yorkshire, has appeared before a court of justice as witness in a matter that happened 140 years ago. He was accompanied by two sons, of whom one had reached 100 and the other 102 years. Again, conclusive proof of the inheritance of long life.^[118]

To the history of these patriarchs I can add a few personal observations. My mother’s father lived to the age of 104. He never smoked and could read without spectacles all his life. He had eleven children, of whom one (an aunt of mine) is 95, and I have every reason for believing that she will continue to live yet many years in her present condition. Another daughter is at present 85; a son is 83, and another 78.

We are acquainted with the history of the family of a physician in Amsterdam, in which the great grandfather was 96. He had six sons who, between them, totaled 600 years, one of them living to the age of 102, some of the others to 80 and 90; and there is a daughter 79 years of age.

From the foregoing it seems that persons descended from long-lived families have themselves a good chance of living to a great age; but to do this it is essential that they should observe the rules of hygiene to prevent the deterioration of their ductless glands.

That the observance of good hygiene is of the greatest importance to attain longevity can be best adduced by the fact that persons descended from short-lived parents may also attain a green old age in robust health, as I will show by a few examples which have come under my personal observation.

Sir Herman Weber, the author of a valuable work on the prolongation of life, is descended from parents who both died at an early age. This savant has himself followed the excellent advice he gives in his books on long life, with what result can be best judged by his healthy and vigorous looks. His appearance is that of a man many years his junior, yet Sir Herman was 82 a few years ago when we were together climbing a very steep and high hill in Carlsbad. When we arrived at the summit nothing could restrain Sir Herman, but he insisted on also mounting a lofty tower to see the surrounding mountains, without taking any rest between his exertions, and this in spite of the warmth of the weather.

On the day that we began to pen these lines we were congratulating one of the multifarious professors of the medical faculty of Berlin on his 73d birthday. He is in perfect and robust health, and is at present engaged on the third edition of his work, which is well known in medical circles all over the world. He told us his father was 33 and his mother 48 when they died, and several of his brothers died before reaching old age. However, his grandfather lived to be 90. This savant has always led a sober and regular life.

Sometimes chronic diseases, like syphilis, etc., do not prevent people who come from a long-lived family from attaining to a very old age. Thus a patient of mine, a French gentleman of 72 years, who still shows symptoms of the tertiary form of syphilis acquired fifty-two years ago, is still looking in splendid health, like a man of 60, and was complaining to me about his too strong sexual feelings. Likewise, the father of a patient of mine has reached his 96th year in spite of his syphilis, which he acquired an age ago.

If we now consider the environments where the longest-lived persons are found, we shall find that those who always live in the open air, and also moderately, rising early in the morning and leading day by day the same regular life, have attained the longest lives. A great number of long-lived patriarchs can be found among the peasants, or at least among persons living in the country and out in the fresh air all day. Undoubtedly the greatest number of long-lived people are to be found in the British Islands, especially in Scotland. The inhabitants of Great Britain are well known to appreciate fresh air, and on the Continent we often see them, especially Scotchmen, going about without any overcoat even on a cold winter’s day.

We shall see in various chapters of this book how essentially important is a sound hygiene to ensure long life, and we shall demonstrate in separate chapters the great importance of fresh air and of exercise in the open air.

If we would inquire where are to be found the greatest number of persons over 100 years of age, the palm must be given to Bulgaria, if what is claimed be true, viz., that there are 3800 persons over that age, and all these folk partake daily of “jogurth,” a sour milk containing three different microbes, the most efficacious among them being the maeja bacillus. In Germany, with its 61,000,000 of inhabitants, there are but 71 persons over 100 years old, while Bulgaria, with only 7,000,000, claims to have 3800, and that it is due to the jogurth eaten every day. We will deal more fully with jogurth in the chapter on the elimination of toxic products from the intestines.