520 V. BLOOD LIPIDS 



Reduced values for tocopherols have been reported in fibrositis. 987 

 Vitamin E therapy was followed by a rise in plasma tocopherol coincident 

 with clinical improvement. 



Owens and Owens 988 noted low values for blood tocopherol in infants 

 suffering from retrolental fibroplasia. This is a disease which develops 

 primarily in premature infants shortly after birth. The greater the pre- 

 maturity, the more likely the disease is to develop. However, the figure 

 given for such affected babies, namely 0.25 milligram per cent (forty-six 

 cases), does not seem to be much lower than that reported for premature 

 babies not suffering from this condition, which has been given as 0.22 

 milligram per cent by one group of workers 973 and as 0.43 milligram per 

 cent by another group. 970 After the administration of 150 mg. of vitamin 

 E daily, over a relatively short period, to the babies with fibroplasia, the 

 average figure for plasma tocopherol was 4.12 milligram per cent (103 

 cases) . 



987 M. Ant and*H. D. Appleton, Med. Record, 162, No. 12, 12-14 (Dec, 1949). 



988 W. C. Owens and E. U. Owens, Am. J. Ophthalmol, 32, 1631-1637 ( 1949). 



