THE RELATION OF HYPERTHYROIDISM TO DIABETES MELLITUS

Abstract

At a meeting of the Deutscher Kongress für innere Medizin in 1906, Friedrich Müller¹ suggested that a special type of glycosuria is related to exophthalmic goiter. His immediate reasons for this belief were drawn from his experience with two cases. The first was one of exophthalmic goiter in which he had given thyroidin, hoping thereby to diminish the size of the thyroid gland. The symptoms of hyperthyroidism did not improve under this form of treatment and sugar began to appear in the urine in increasing amounts. The glycosuria did not diminish after administration of the thyroidin was stopped, and the patient died in coma a few months later. The second case was that of a woman with a chronic goiter who had taken thyroid extract for a long time, and who had developed diabetes. Some time later the goiter disappeared spontaneously, and, to Miller's surprise, the symptoms of diabetes also