12. During the early 20th century, medical research promoted “fever theory: the combating of an otherwise incurable disease, such as syphilis, through the deliberate infection of a patient with malaria.
Fevers, despite being unpleasant experiences for those suffering, are actually beneficial to the host, serving as a defensive mechanism by the autoimmune system to purge itself of hostile infection. Most bacteria, due to evolutionary requirements to survive in a human host, thrive at approximate body temperatures of 38°C and consequently increasing the body’s temperature kills off the bacterial invaders. Due to the capacity of fevers to cure the body of infections, so-called “fever theory” was applied during the late-19th and early 20th centuries as a medical approach to treat otherwise incurable illnesses, in particular by Austrian neuro-psychiatrist Julius Wagner Jauregg concerning the treatment of syphilitic asylum inmates.
In 1917, Jauregg determined the introduction of malaria to patients suffering from the advanced stages of syphilis could be treated through the forced inducement of a febrile episode caused by malaria. For this work, Jauregg would actually win the Noel Prize for Medicine in 1927 “for his discovery of the therapeutic value of malaria inoculation in the treatment of dementia paralytica”. However, although demonstrating some effectiveness within carefully controlled environments, Jauregg’s approach was highly risky, relying on the infected patient to survive the malarial infection long enough for it to kill the syphilis. Most would not, succumbing to the lethal virus due to their already weakened physical condition.