The contention of Voronoff, like that of Steinach, has to do with
the use of gland material for purposes of rejuvenation. He does not,
however, depend on any change in the tissues brought about by tying
off tubes. He actually transplants the entire glands, and since the
human material is not easily and generally available, attempts to
supply the deficiency with glands derived from the anthropoid apes.
In this instance also a vast amount of experimental evidence from the
past and from other workers of the present is available to disprove
the contention. True, there are instances in which the glands have
been absent from birth or lost through accident and in which the
transplantation of such material results favorably, but the records
again are not such as will convince any scientific reader of the
general merit of the operation. In the first place there is not in
any sense of the word actual prolongation of life, since none of
those on whom the transplantings have been done seem to live beyond
the normal period. In the second place, one reads such conclusions as
the following: “The pessimistic attitude of the patient and constant
brooding over his inability have marred the results of the treatment.”
Here again the part played by the will-to-believe seems paramount.
When all of the evidence is assembled and considered _en masse_,
it becomes apparent that there is not as yet any actual proof that
rejuvenation has been accomplished in a single individual, or any
basis for the belief that it ever will be accomplished.