NEUROHISTOPATHOLOGIC CHANGES WITH METRAZOL AND INSULIN SHOCK THERAPY

Abstract

Insulin and metrazol shock therapy for mental diseases is finding wider application in the hands of investigators. Originally intended for the treatment of schizophrenia, it is now being advocated and used in the management of many other neuropsychiatric conditions. According to Stief and Tokay,¹ insulin is employed in the treatment of neurasthenia, morphine addiction, delirium tremens, exophthalmic goiter, negativistic refusal of food and manic-depressive psychosis, as well as of dementia praecox. Many of the conditions for which insulin and metrazol are used have a comparatively good prognosis with less drastic therapeutic measures. It therefore becomes necessary to study the behavior of these substances in the central nervous system in order to evaluate not only the good which these drugs may do but also the untoward reactions. Questions which have confronted every worker since the introduction of these two drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia are: Do these substances benefit