“The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.”
_The Sign of the Four_
The colorful story of _The Adventure of the Creeping Man_ has
always especially interested me, for the theme embraces the fascinating
field of endocrinology. The plot revolves around Professor Presbury,
the Camford physiologist, who is portrayed as a biological scientist of
international renown. It is in order to review briefly the setting of
the story.
Professor Presbury, a widower in his early sixties, had fallen madly
in love with a very young girl, the daughter of one of his colleagues.
During the course of the love affair, he began to show pronounced
changes in personality; he became secretive, highly irritable at
intervals, and on occasion even savage. When this portly and dignified
physiologist began to do such astounding things as walking on all fours
and swinging on the ivy-covered walls with the abandon and agility
of an ape, he naturally caused grave concern to his only daughter
Edith and to his associate Mr. Bennett, Edith’s fiancé. Furthermore,
the professor’s heretofore faithful wolfhound Roy had tried to
attack his master on several occasions. Events came to such a pass
that Mr. Bennett and Miss Presbury asked Sherlock Holmes to make an
investigation.
Holmes summoned Dr. Watson to 221B Baker Street one night in September,
and casually announced that he was seriously considering writing a
monograph on the uses of dogs in detective work. He observed that
the action of a dog often reflects family life, and gave as an
illustration the case on which he was presently working. He believed
that the changed behavior of the wolfhound toward his master might
prove to be an important clue in solving the mystery. In point of fact,
this eventually proved to be true.
During this discussion, Mr. Bennett called on Sherlock Holmes and,
in the presence of Dr. Watson, reviewed the strange actions of the
professor and the dog’s attitude toward his master. He brought out the
important information that it was every ninth day when Presbury acted
so abnormally. With this latter fact in mind, it was not difficult for
Sherlock Holmes to arrange to be on hand at a time when the professor
would probably perform again his astonishing antics.
Accordingly, one night Holmes and Watson secreted themselves in the
shrubbery in the professor’s extensive yard and awaited events. Holmes
had previously instructed Mr. Bennett to follow secretly his future
father-in-law should he venture out on this particular night. Their
vigil was rewarded, for about midnight the famous physiologist emerged
from his house clad in his dressing gown. To the astonishment of his
onlookers, he began walking on all fours. Dr. Watson describes his
further antics. The professor, with surprising agility, began to ascend
the ivy-colored walls, springing aimlessly from branch to branch, but
apparently hugely enjoying his singular powers. He finally tired of
thus disporting himself, came down to the ground, and moving along on
his hands and feet, made his way to the barn where Roy was tethered.
Remaining at a safe distance, he deliberately teased the dog until the
infuriated beast, having managed to slip his collar, sank his teeth
into the neck of the unfortunate professor. The two onlookers, with the
help of Bennett, rushed to the rescue; without their intervention, the
dog doubtless would have killed his master.
Holmes had been working quietly on the case and had discovered that
Presbury, in his desire to regain the vigor of his youth, had connived
with an obscure Prague scientist who was attempting to unravel the
secret of rejuvenescence. Holmes found that this individual was
attacking the problem by studying the physiologic effects on man of the
administration of serum obtained from certain apes. The serum he had
prescribed for Professor Presbury had been prepared from the langur, a
large black-faced monkey which lives on the slopes of the Himalayas.
Holmes emphasized that the langur was both a climber and a crawler.
The implication is obvious; it accounts for the professor’s mode of
progression and his agility as a climber.
Holmes, discussing the case later with Watson, remarked that it was the
untimely love affair with the young girl which had given the professor
the idea of trying to turn himself into a younger man. Holmes also
commented on the strange behavior of the wolfhound; he felt the dog
had turned on his master because he thought it was a monkey he was
attacking.
The theme of this story is of interest particularly to biologically
trained men. About the time it was written, there was a great deal of
interest in the possibility of rejuvenation by the transplantation of
testicular glands or by an injection of their extract. The work of
Steinach and of Voronoff, the European physiologists, had received
immoderate publicity.
The real pioneer in the study of rejuvenation was, of course,
Charles-Edouard Brown-Séquard (1818-94), who reported the results of
his experiments in June 1889 before the _Société de Biologie_.
This brilliant French psychologist during the course of the preceding
fortnight had administered to himself six subcutaneous injections of
the water extract of ground-up testicles of dogs or of guinea pigs. He
was then seventy-two years old. He enthusiastically reported that the
effects had been astonishingly beneficial, and firmly believed that
both his physical forces and his mental activities were enormously
improved. He claimed that he felt less fatigued at the end of the day,
which was quite important to him, since he spent long hours in his
laboratory.
Brown-Séquard had such an enviable reputation as a scientist that
testicular extracts at once became widely and indiscriminately used.
The idea spread like wildfire. More than twelve thousand physicians
were administering testicular extracts to their patients before the end
of the year. Some of the more conservative physicians in England and
in the United States, however, were highly critical of Brown-Séquard’s
recent researches. They spoke derisively of the extract as “senile
folly,” “elixir of youth,” and made other uncomplimentary remarks. In
fairness to Brown-Séquard, it should be stated that he realized the
extract was not a panacea for all illnesses. But he did feel, up to the
time of his death, which occurred four years later, that testicular
extracts built up what he termed “nervous force.”
It is now recognized by modern endocrinologists that the distinguished
Brown-Séquard had not controlled his experiments well. The testicular
extracts he used were probably inactive. If I may be technical about
it, he had made an aqueous extract which would leave behind the
hormones, which are fat soluble. It is known also that some of the
claims made by Steinach and by Voronoff were grossly exaggerated.
It is possible that people who are not familiar with the science of
endocrinology might gain the impression that the administration of
ape serum could produce the effects so vividly described in _The
Adventure of the Creeping Man_. The concept that such a serum exists
is, of course, rank nonsense. Even though the tale is incredible, I
confess that I have always enjoyed reading it. This may be because it
is a story about a physiologist--and an unusual physiologist, for he
was also extremely wealthy. Parenthetically, mention should be made
that the story actually touches on science-fiction, which is at present
so much in vogue.
The theme of rejuvenation has been used by numerous authors. One
story which comes to mind is the novel _Black Oxen_, written by
the late Gertrude Atherton, and published many years ago. This book
was widely read. The story, of course, was actually in the nature of
science-fiction.
The subject of the renewal of youth is not as popular as it was some
years ago. There are still a few charlatans in the medical profession
who take advantage of the public and prescribe gonadal therapy
irrationally and even indiscriminately. These misguided medical men
make wild promises as to the permanent benefits to be derived from
administration of gonadal extracts. Indeed, there have been a few such
doctors in the United States, and one, at least, is reported to have
amassed a fortune. A few of these men have acted in good faith, and we
may charitably assume they believed that the administration of gonadal
extracts stimulated the libido of their patients or enabled them to
lead a more strenuous life. Be that as it may, many such practitioners
have acted on slender evidence, and they surely have, in a large
measure, the will to believe.
Since the time Dr. Watson wrote _The Adventure of the Creeping
Man_, there have been highly important developments in gonadal
therapy. Testosterone, for example, a preparation from the male gonads,
is presently widely used and has a definite place in the therapeutic
armamentarium of any reputable physician. There are other preparations,
such as the estrogenic substances and progesterone, which have
therapeutic uses. These latter substances are extracted from the female
gonads. It would take us too far afield to elaborate on these or to
give the indication for their uses. There is good reason to believe
that there will be many new developments in this particular field, for
the science of endocrinology is still in its infancy.