ANTIRACHITIC PROPERTIES DEVELOPED IN HUMAN MILK BY IRRADIATING THE MOTHER

Abstract

It has been firmly established that exposure to ultraviolet radiations, whether through the rays of the sun or artificial sources, regularly affords protection from rickets to animals and to human beings. The question arises whether similar protection can be transmitted through the milk by the mother to the young. It is an aspect that has both theoretical and practical significance. The subject of ultraviolet ray therapy is so recent that little investigative work has been carried out on ancillary aspects, and none whatever in regard to the reaction of the nursing woman to irradiation. Luce, ¹ who conducted a series of similar experiments with cow's milk, concluded that "the antirachitic value depends on the diet of the cow and possibly also on the degree of illumination to which she is exposed." The potency developed by the milk was not great. More recently Steenbock, Hart and their associates ² tested the