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THE JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. 



cases. The elder child, aged 8^ years, reacted vigorously, whereas the 

 younger and weaker child showed no symptoms. The reaction consisted 

 in fever, sweating, collapse, local redness (and even eventual abscess) of 

 old scars and of the injection site. The patients did not become accus- 

 tomed to the agent after increasing doses. The highest temperature oc- 

 curred most often on the day of the injection, but the fever lasted some- 

 times for several days. The general condition was very little affected by 

 the fever. In one case evening rises of temperature and sweating were 

 noted. A severe collapse once followed an injection, giving rise to grave 

 anxiety. With children great caution in the question of dose is required. 

 Doubling the dose is not to be recommended, and not more than two 

 milligrammes should be given. Once a fistulous opening appeared in a 

 scar in the neck leading down to a tuberculous gland, but the tuberculous 

 tissue was not discharged through it. No certain conclusions can be drawn 

 as to the value of this tuberculin, as the time is as yet too short. In the 

 second case an improvement in the condition of the lungs was observed, 

 and in the first case the body weight increased, the glands became smaller 

 and the very large spleen diminished in size. The injections were discon- 

 tinued in the other two cases for independent reasons. 



Worner (ibid.) has treated eight cases, including four of lupus, one of 

 scrofuloderma with pelvic abscess, and three of early phthisis. In one 

 case of lupus considerable improvement was noted. Two other cases, which 

 had been scraped shortly before the tuberculin treatment, showed no re- 

 currence. In the case of scrofuloderma, rapid cleaning and even healing 

 of long-standing ulcers took place. Little effect was noted in the cases of 

 phthisis. The author is encouraged to a further trial of this remedy in 

 small doses. 



Seeligmann (ibid.) reports a case of tuberculosis of the skin and gen- 

 erative organs which was improved by the use of tuberculin. 



Experimental Eclampsia.— Van de Velde, says the British Medi- 

 cal Journal, seeks to give the auto-intoxication theory of eclampsia an 

 experimental basis. He began by comparing the case with which the in- 

 jection of human urine induces convulsions in pregnant and non-pregnant 

 rabbits, finding that the average dose required is in the former case 9 c. cm. 

 per kilog. of body weight; in the latter, 20 c. cm. per kilog. In only one 

 out of 37 pregnant animals experimented upon was there any difficulty 

 in evoking convulsions. The causes of this increased susceptibility may 

 be two in number — the presence of a greater proportion of the toxins 

 producing convulsions in the blood of pregnant animals, or a greater vul- 

 nerability of their nerve centres to these toxins. Now the author finds 

 that it' the blood of a gravid and non-gravid animal be injected at different 



