282 THE VITAMINS 



tissue and general visceral atrophy and all but two showed evidence 

 of infection in some site. Abscesses at the base of the tongue were 

 found in 72 per cent of the entire number and in 90 per cent of those 

 surviving for longer periods than the average. Infection of the lungs 

 occurred in only 9 per cent, while xerophthalmia was evident in over 

 38 per cent, infection of the alimentary tract in 21, infection of the 

 kidney or bladder in 44, and pus in the nasal sinuses or middle ear 

 in 20 per cent. In none of the 50 control animals receiving vitamin A 

 in the form of dried cabbage, cod-liver oil, or butter was there any 

 evidence of such infection. In a series of several hundred rats receiving 

 adequate vitamin A and little or no vitamin D only two instances of 

 gross infection were found. 



Mellanby and Green (1929) reported success in the treatment of 

 human puerperal septicemia with vitamin A concentrates. In the first re- 

 port it was announced that the five patients thus treated had made 

 complete recoveries, while in the same hospital the records for the 

 previous year (1928) had shown 18 cases with no recovery. Mellanby 

 and Green state in their report "it is clear that, impressive as are 

 the results described, they are too few in number to allow the deduc- 

 tion that this form of treatment is specific in its nature for septicemia. 

 They do, however, warrant the belief that the animal experiments 

 pointed correctly to the hypothesis that vitamin A plays a part as an 

 anti-infective agent to bacterial infection, and has the property of 

 raising the resistance of the body to such infection." In a later report 

 Mellanby (1930) stated that of nine puerperal septicemia patients 

 treated with vitamin A concentrates eight had made complete recov- 

 eries. In addition two other septicemic patients were similarly treated. 

 One with an infection caused by Bacillus coli recovered, and the other 

 with a staphylococcic infection died. A recent editorial in the Journal 

 of the American Medical Association questions the clinical results of 

 Mellanby and Green on the ground that the high mortality rate which 

 they reported for the cases of puerperal septicemia not receiving vitamin 

 A treatment indicated that in a large proportion of this group the in- 

 tense fulminating type of septicemia was involved, while Mellanby ad- 

 mitted that the cases in which vitamin A concentrates were used were 

 not of the fulminating type and consequently might be expected to 

 have a low mortality rate. It is suggested, however, that on account 

 of the promising results obtained by Green and Mellanby in their 

 animal work, vitamin A should be given very extensive cHnical tests. 



At least one such test has been reported. Burton and Balmain (1930) 

 tested the prophylactic efifect of a concentrate of vitamin A in anti- 



