INTRODUCTION

The thymus is an immunological endocrine organ located in the middle mediastinum. The organ is bi-lobed and large during the first few years of life and then shrinks considerably as the body ages (1). As the thymus shrinks (atrophy), it is infiltrated with fatty tissue and strands of fibrous connective tissue. The process by which the thymus undergoes atrophy is known as involution and sets in at about age 28 years old. Involution is marked by a decrease in size of the thymus, decreased cellularity, decline in the production of new cells from the bone marrow, decline in responsiveness to vaccines and increased incidence in autoimmune diseases (2;3). It is the author’s belief that dibenzyl trisulphide (DTS) is capable of reversing the process of involution of the thymus based on data obtained from studies conducted in old mice (4, 5). This suggests that DTS may be capable of delaying the onset of ageing (degenerative) diseases such as osteoarthritis and some forms of cancer.