DeepSummary
The episode discusses the origins of radioiodine therapy, a successful treatment for thyroid diseases like hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. It describes how Dr. Saul Hertz, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, came up with the idea of using radioactive iodine to target and treat problematic thyroid tissue after attending a lecture by Carl Compton on making radioactive isotopes of common elements.
Hertz collaborated with physicists to create radioactive iodine isotopes with longer half-lives, enabling treatment before the isotopes decayed. Initial trials on rabbits and humans showed promising results, leading to the first human patient being treated with radioiodine for hyperthyroidism in 1941. However, a rivalry developed between Hertz and another doctor, Earl Chapman, over credit for the research.
Despite the controversies, radioiodine therapy became established as an effective and less invasive alternative to surgery for treating thyroid diseases. Hertz continued his work until his untimely death in 1950, and his contributions to nuclear medicine have been recognized with awards and archives preserving his legacy.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Dr. Saul Hertz developed the idea of using radioactive iodine to treat thyroid diseases like hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer in the 1930s.
- Hertz collaborated with physicists to create longer-lived radioactive iodine isotopes suitable for treatment.
- Initial trials on rabbits and humans showed promising results, leading to the first human patient being treated with radioiodine for hyperthyroidism in 1941.
- A rivalry developed between Hertz and another doctor, Earl Chapman, over credit for the radioiodine therapy research.
- Despite controversies, radioiodine therapy became established as an effective and less invasive alternative to surgery for treating thyroid diseases.
- Hertz continued his work until his untimely death in 1950, and his contributions to nuclear medicine have been recognized with awards and archives preserving his legacy.
- Radioiodine therapy remains a widely used and successful treatment for thyroid conditions in both humans and animals.
- The development of radioiodine therapy marked the birth of nuclear medicine and targeted radionuclide therapy.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “It is therefore logical to suppose that when strongly active materials are available, the concentration power of the hyperplastic and neoplastic thyroid for radioactive iodine may be of clinical or therapeutic significance.“ by Saul Hertz and his team
- “The fact that iodine is selectively taken up by the thyroid gland when injected into the body makes it possible to hope that iodine, which is made radioactive and which loses its radioactivity as rapidly as you indicated, would be a useful method of therapy in cases of overactivity of the thyroid gland.“ by Saul Hertz
- “Had he actually participated in the work, there would have been no problem including him.“ by Arthur Roberts
- “It is often referred to as the first and the gold standard in targeted radionuclide therapy.“ by Traci Wilson
- “So my personal thanks to Doctor Saul Hertz, because now my cat has benefited directly from his work.“ by Graham Klaas
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Episode Information
Stuff You Missed in History Class
iHeartPodcasts
6/8/24
This 2019 episode examines thyroid disease through history, and the physics lecture heard by Saul Hertz in the 1930s that changed the treatment of hyperthyroidism forever.
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