THE MODERN TREATMENT OF THYROTOXICOSIS

SINCE thyrotoxicosis was first described, in 1786 by Parry¹ and later by Graves,² many methods of treatment have been used in this disease. Although iodine was first recommended as a therapeutic agent in 1820 by Coindet,³ it was not until 1923 that Plummer⁴ demonstrated its ability to diminish the activity of the hyperfunctioning thyroid gland and its usefulness in preoperative preparation. X-ray treatment had been tried extensively after 1900,⁵ but, although effective in some cases, it gradually went into disuse. Iodine alone or followed by subtotal thyroidectomy was used almost exclusively until the early 1940's, when the thiourea derivatives were found useful in preparation for surgery as well as in cases where "medical thyroidectomy" was desirable.⁶ The most recent advance in the therapy of thyrotoxicosis has been the use of radioactive iodine, first reported effective in 1942.⁷ The current concepts of therapy in thyrotoxicosis will be presented as modified by