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Damage of the Offspring of White Mice, Radiated before Mating
REVIEWS AND ABSTRACTS
on animals seem to prove the opposite. He found that while an ovum may retain enough vitality to become fertilized, it may nevertheless be permanently damaged. He found that the development .of the embryos in rabbits which had been subjected to radiation was unmistakably interfered with. The duration of pregnancy in these animals was prolonged and the offspring below par. This agrees with the observations of Werner who found that women who had been irradiated before conception, frequently aborted and, in those cases where viable children were born, these had a tendency to lag in psychic and, more especially, in physical development. That the embryo itself may be injured by the :x-ray had already been pointed out by Perthes who claimed growth defects, malformations and monstrosities resulted from roentgen radiation of the embryo. Hertwig and his collaborators demonstrated that the exposure of frog embryos in the morulla stage to radium caused either gradual death or deformity of the central nervous system, depending upon the dose. Radiation in the gastrula stage caused spina bifida and other changes in the nervous system and blood. Most of these died a few days after maturity. Driessen ex· posed one side of pregnant rabbits to the x-ray. Invariably this produced death of the embryos in the radiated horn without any demonstrable histologic changes of the uterus or the corpora lutea. While it has not been demonstrated that a single exposure, as used in making an x-ray picture of a pregnant woman, has any deleterious effect upon the fetus in utero, Driessen cautions that the making of repeated exposures may not be without definite danger to the child. He holds that therapeutic doses should only be given in urgent cases, such as in the treatment of carcinoma, and then with the distinct understanding that the fetus will probably be sacrificed. R. E. Wonus.
Martius, H., and Franken, H.: Damage of the Offspring of White Mice, Radiated before Mating. Zentralblatt fiir Gynakologie, 1926, 1, 25. Carefully selected, healthy white mice were subjected to x~rays about eight days before mating. The total number of offspring was reduced to less than half. Mortality of the offspring was greatly increased, growth and development deftnitely impaired. All were sterile after nine months, whereas all control animals, mated at four months, gave birth to normal litters later. These experiments made on mice do not prove anything in regard to the human being, but the possibility of similar damage to the human offspring by radiation without permanent sterilization is strongly suggested. GROVER LIESR. Schiller, W.: Full Term Pregnancy Following Roentgen Irradiation. Klinische Wochenschrift, 1924, xxxvii, 1190.
Wiener
The author reports a case of a full term pregnancy following x-ray irradiation for myomata. The patient was 43 years old. During the puerperium she developed a temperature due to necrosis of the myomata, necessitating a supravaginal hyster· ectomy which was followed by an uneventful recovery. The baby has, up until the present time appeared normal in both its physical and mental development. The author feels that this successful gestation was brought about by the x-ray therapy. The radiation resulted in the establishment of a normal endometrium which was able to maintain gestation once implantation took place. He feels that, if a reliable stimulating dosage of x-rays could be determined, many cases could become pregnant following such treatment, where no pregnancy could otherwise take place due to the presence of pathology of the endometrium. RALPH A. REJS.
on animals seem to prove the opposite. He found that while an ovum may retain enough vitality to become fertilized, it may nevertheless be permanently damaged. He found that the development .of the embryos in rabbits which had been subjected to radiation was unmistakably interfered with. The duration of pregnancy in these animals was prolonged and the offspring below par. This agrees with the observations of Werner who found that women who had been irradiated before conception, frequently aborted and, in those cases where viable children were born, these had a tendency to lag in psychic and, more especially, in physical development. That the embryo itself may be injured by the :x-ray had already been pointed out by Perthes who claimed growth defects, malformations and monstrosities resulted from roentgen radiation of the embryo. Hertwig and his collaborators demonstrated that the exposure of frog embryos in the morulla stage to radium caused either gradual death or deformity of the central nervous system, depending upon the dose. Radiation in the gastrula stage caused spina bifida and other changes in the nervous system and blood. Most of these died a few days after maturity. Driessen ex· posed one side of pregnant rabbits to the x-ray. Invariably this produced death of the embryos in the radiated horn without any demonstrable histologic changes of the uterus or the corpora lutea. While it has not been demonstrated that a single exposure, as used in making an x-ray picture of a pregnant woman, has any deleterious effect upon the fetus in utero, Driessen cautions that the making of repeated exposures may not be without definite danger to the child. He holds that therapeutic doses should only be given in urgent cases, such as in the treatment of carcinoma, and then with the distinct understanding that the fetus will probably be sacrificed. R. E. Wonus.
Martius, H., and Franken, H.: Damage of the Offspring of White Mice, Radiated before Mating. Zentralblatt fiir Gynakologie, 1926, 1, 25. Carefully selected, healthy white mice were subjected to x~rays about eight days before mating. The total number of offspring was reduced to less than half. Mortality of the offspring was greatly increased, growth and development deftnitely impaired. All were sterile after nine months, whereas all control animals, mated at four months, gave birth to normal litters later. These experiments made on mice do not prove anything in regard to the human being, but the possibility of similar damage to the human offspring by radiation without permanent sterilization is strongly suggested. GROVER LIESR. Schiller, W.: Full Term Pregnancy Following Roentgen Irradiation. Klinische Wochenschrift, 1924, xxxvii, 1190.
Wiener
The author reports a case of a full term pregnancy following x-ray irradiation for myomata. The patient was 43 years old. During the puerperium she developed a temperature due to necrosis of the myomata, necessitating a supravaginal hyster· ectomy which was followed by an uneventful recovery. The baby has, up until the present time appeared normal in both its physical and mental development. The author feels that this successful gestation was brought about by the x-ray therapy. The radiation resulted in the establishment of a normal endometrium which was able to maintain gestation once implantation took place. He feels that, if a reliable stimulating dosage of x-rays could be determined, many cases could become pregnant following such treatment, where no pregnancy could otherwise take place due to the presence of pathology of the endometrium. RALPH A. REJS.