The Gland Illusion: Early Attempts at Rejuvenation through Male Hormone Therapy

Testosterone and estrogen treatments are common today, but in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the discovery of sex gland secretions led both physicians and the public to believe they had found the secret to bodily rejuvenation. This led to bizarre human experimentation involving injections of glandular fluid, ingestion of glandular tissues and the transplanting of testes and ovaries. Stranger still, the treatments supposedly worked, with both men and women reporting enhanced vitalit...