Radithor and the era of mild radium therapy
R. M. Macklis
Department of Radiation Therapy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
Soon after the discovery of radium, a school of practitioners arose who
were interested primarily in the physiological rather than the tumoricidal
powers of this new radioactive element. This treatment philosophy was
called "mild radium therapy" and involved the oral or parenteral
administration of microgram quantities of radium and its daughter isotopes,
often as cures for rheumatic diseases, hypertension, and metabolic
disorders. Manufacturers of patent medicines responded to this market by
producing a variety of over-the-counter radioactive preparations including
pills, elixirs, and salves. One such nostrum was Radithor, a popular and
expensive mixture of radium 226 and radium 228 in distilled water. Radithor
was advertised as an effective treatment for over 150 "endocrinologic"
diseases, especially lassitude and sexual impotence. Over 400,000 bottles,
each containing over 2 muCi (74 kBq) of radium, were apparently marketed
and sold worldwide between 1925 and 1930. The death of the Pittsburgh
millionaire sportsman Eben M. Byers, who was an avid Radithor user, by
radium poisoning in 1932 brought an end to this era and prompted the
development of regulatory controls for all radiopharmaceuticals.
