Pyrotherapy

Pyrotherapy

Pyrotherapy (pronounced: py-ro-ther-a-py, from the Greek words "pyro" meaning fire and "therapy" meaning treatment) is a historical medical treatment where controlled fevers were induced to fight certain diseases, most notably syphilis before the advent of antibiotics.

History

Pyrotherapy was first introduced by the Austrian psychiatrist Julius Wagner-Jauregg in the late 19th century. He discovered that patients with syphilis showed significant improvement after having a fever. This led to the development of pyrotherapy, where a controlled fever was induced in the patient to combat the syphilis bacteria. Wagner-Jauregg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1927 for this discovery.

Procedure

The procedure of pyrotherapy involved infecting the patient with a disease such as malaria that would cause a high fever. The fever was then allowed to run its course, effectively killing the syphilis bacteria. Once the syphilis was cured, the patient was then treated for the malaria. This was a risky procedure with a high mortality rate, but it was the best treatment available for syphilis at the time.

Modern Use

With the discovery of antibiotics, particularly penicillin, in the mid-20th century, pyrotherapy fell out of use as a treatment for syphilis. However, the concept of using heat to treat disease has not completely disappeared. Hyperthermia therapy, a treatment where body tissue is exposed to high temperatures to damage and kill cancer cells, is a modern form of pyrotherapy.

Related Terms

• Hyperthermia therapy
• Julius Wagner-Jauregg
• Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Penicillin
• Syphilis

External links

• Medical encyclopedia article on Pyrotherapy
• Wikipedia's article - Pyrotherapy

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