The Quest for Cortisone

by Rooke, Thom W.

• ISBN13: 9781611860337
• ISBN10: 1611860334
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-01
• Publisher: Michigan State Univ Pr

Summary

In 1948, when "Mrs. G.," hospitalized with debilitating rheumatoid arthritis, became the first person to receive a mysterious new compound - cortisone- her physicians were awestruck by her transformation from enervated to energized. After eighteen years of biochemical research, the most intensively hunted biological agent of all time had finally been isolated, identified, synthesized, and put to the test. And it worked. But the discovery of a long-sought "magic bullet" came at an unanticipated cost in the form of strange side effects. This fascinating history recounts the discovery of cortisone and pulls the curtain back on the peculiar cast of characters responsible for its advent, including two enigmatic scientists, Edward Kendall and Philip Hench, who went on to receive the Nobel Prize. The book also explores the key role the Mayo Clinic played in fostering cortisone's development, and looks at drugs that owe their heritage to the so-called "King of Steroids."

Author Biography

Thom Rooke is the Krehbiel Professor of Vascular Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Addison and His Disease	p. 9
Introducing Dr. Kendall	p. 17
Life After the Thyroid	p. 27
Introducing Dr. Hench	p. 35
Nice Guys, Saints, Eccentrics, and Geniuses	p. 43
1929 and the Decision to Hunt for Cortisone	p. 53
Another Kendall False Start, Another Great Announcement	p. 59
Kendall Strikes Out Again	p. 67
Kendall Presses On	p. 75
Score: Szent-Györgyi-l; Kendall-0	p. 81
Transitions and Travels	p. 87
War Looms	p. 93
Hench Meets Kendall	p. 99
World War II and Military Steroid Research	p. 105
Plants, Politicians, and More Pessimism	p. 113
Good-bye Marker, Hello Sarett	p. 119
Hench Returns to Mayo	p. 123
Push On? Give Up?	p. 129
The Decision to Test Compound E on Rheumatoid Arthritis	p. 135
The Amazing Mrs. G	p. 143
A Promising Start	p. 147
The Bad and the Ugly	p. 155
Progress and Setbacks	p. 163
Convincing the Skeptics	p. 169
Announcement	p. 175
The Prize	p. 183
Stockholm	p. 189
Aftermath	p. 197
Twilight	p. 205
The End of the Show	p. 213
Notes	p. 219
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