abstracts: therapeutics and pharmacology 101 



THERAPEUTICS. — XV. Attempts at specific therapy in leprosy. 

 Donald H. Currie, Moses T. Clegg,, and Harry T. Hollmann, 

 U. S. Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, Honolulu, 

 T. H. Public Health Bulletin 47. 

 The authors, after fully reviewing an extensive literature, bearing on 

 previous attempts at specific therapy in leprosy, describe several sub- 

 stances that they have prepared from their artificial cultures of B. leprae. 

 These substances were given to several cases of leprosy for varying per- 

 iods of time, and in some instances caused general and local reactions. 

 Up to the time this article was prepared, there was no evidence that 

 any of these substances were of benefit to the patients receiving them, 

 nevertheless, experiments of this nature are being continued in hopes 

 that more success will be met with in future. 



Among the substances employed was the serum of a horse, which 

 animal had been partially immunized to live cultures of B. leprae. 

 This animal's serum showed distinct evidence of containing agglutin- 

 ins, it being able to clump B. leprae in dilutions of 1 to 1000. 



Donald H. Currie. 



PHARMACOLOGY. — Digest of comments on the Pharmacopoeia of the 

 United States of America (eighth decennial revision) and the National 

 Formtdary (third edition) for the calendar year ending December 31, 

 1909. Murray Galt Motter and Martin I. Wilbert, U. S. 

 Public Health and Marine Hospital Service. Bulletin of the Hy- 

 gienic Laboratory 79. 1911. 

 The present bulletin is the fifth of the series of "Digests of Comments " 

 on the Pharmacopoeia of the United States and the National Formula^, 

 now in course of revision. These books, as is well known are recognized 

 by the Food and Drugs Act of June 30, 1906, as the standard authority 

 with reference to the identity, purity and strength of the medicaments 

 therein described and are, therefore, of direct interest and value as pub- 

 lic health measures. 



The available literature of the year 1909 containing matter of inter- 

 est to the revisers of the Pharmacopoeia and the National Formulary 

 has been carefully reviewed and practical suggestions and references, 

 bearing on the improvement of the two books as standards under the 

 law, are presented in as concise a form as possible. 



As in previous Bulletins of this series, considerable space is devoted 

 to the consideration of the possible development of international stand- 

 ards for potent medicaments, and the gradual compliance of foreign 



