FEVER THERAPY IN PELVIC CONDITIONS - Results of Experimental and Clinical Studies
WILLIAM BIERMAN, M.D., E. A. HOROWITZ, M.D., and C. L. LEVENSON, M.D. · 1935
This 1935 fever therapy research shows electromagnetic fields can produce measurable biological effects through controlled tissue heating.
Plain English Summary
This 1935 study by Dr. Bierman examined fever therapy for treating pelvic conditions, likely including infections like gonorrhea. The research explored using artificially induced hyperthermia (elevated body temperature) and diathermy (electromagnetic heating) as therapeutic treatments for various pelvic disorders.
Why This Matters
This historical research represents an early example of electromagnetic energy being used therapeutically in medicine, specifically diathermy for creating controlled hyperthermia. While the study predates modern EMF safety concerns, it demonstrates that electromagnetic fields can produce measurable biological effects through tissue heating. The diathermy equipment used in 1935 likely operated at radiofrequency ranges similar to some modern wireless devices, though at much higher power levels for therapeutic purposes. What makes this relevant today is the fundamental principle it illustrates: electromagnetic fields interact with biological tissue in ways that can produce physiological changes. The controlled heating effects that made diathermy useful for fever therapy remind us that EMF exposure isn't just about thermal effects, but about how electromagnetic energy transfers into biological systems and potentially triggers cellular responses.
Finding
In 52 cases of gonorrhea in the female, the diagnosis of gonorrhea had been established by the finding of typical Gram-negative intracellular diplococci in the secretions of the cervix and in some of the cases also in the urethra. More recently we have also been using cultural methods for the demonstration of the organism. In 45 of the 52 patients the cervix and urethra were freed of gonococci after an average of 2.4 treatments.
In their words
“In 52 cases of gonorrhea in the female, the diagnosis of gonorrhea had been established by the finding of typical Gram-negative intracellular diplococci in the secretions of the cervix and in some of the cases also in the urethra. More recently we have also been using cultural methods for the demonstration of the organism. In 45 of the 52 patients the cervix and urethra were freed of gonococci after an average of 2.4 treatments.”
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: 30 minutes to 4 hours
Study Details
To discover how much heat pelvic tissues could tolerate before they became destroyed, and how best to create such a degree of temperature elevation.
The study involved experimental and clinical investigations of fever therapy in pelvic conditions, p...
The researchers found that gross evidence of coagulation of the vaginal mucosa occurs if a temperatu...
The study concluded that heating of pelvic tissues by means of transpelvic diathermy is relatively inadequate. However, combined systemic and local heating using radiotherm apparatus showed promising results in treating gonorrhea. The treatment was effective in freeing the cervix and urethra of gonococci in most cases. The researchers noted that while the technic of application is not ideal, it offers the best possibility of ridding the human host of his or her gonococcal invader.
Show BibTeX
@article{fever_therapy_in_pelvic_conditions_results_of_experimental_and_clinical_studies_g6615,
author = {WILLIAM BIERMAN and M.D. and E. A. HOROWITZ and M.D. and and C. L. LEVENSON and M.D.},
title = {FEVER THERAPY IN PELVIC CONDITIONS - Results of Experimental and Clinical Studies},
year = {1935},
}