488 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1940 



and sulfapyridine is more efficient than either one alone. Further- 

 more, there are some individuals who cannot tolerate sulfapyridine 

 because of its toxicity. Treatment of pneumococcal meningitis with 

 sulfapyridine has been productive of most encouraging results. 



Sulfapyridine has also been successfully applied to the therapy of 

 staphylococcal infections. Treatment of this type of infection with 

 sulfanilamide was largely ineffective. Sulfapyridine has also been 

 useful in the treatment of gonorrhea. Patients whose infections are 

 resistant to sulfanilamide therapy may be cured with sulfapjridine. 



Sulfapyridine precipitates toxic signs and symptoms that make it 

 a disagreeable drug to prescribe at times. The compound is more in- 

 soluble than sulfanilamide and, therefore, is absorbed erratically from 

 the intestinal tract. This factor of absorption is important because 

 successful therapy depends upon an adequate amount of the drug in 

 the blood and tissues. Sulfapyridine also causes severe nausea and 

 vomiting in many patients, so that it may be impossible to continue 

 giving it. Another toxic manifestation not shared by sulfanilamide is 

 that acetylated sulfapyridine crystals may be precipitated along the 

 genito-urinary tract causing serious kidney dysfunction and pain. 

 In addition, sulfapyridine results in other toxic signs that have been 

 described for sulfanilamide. 



What of the future of chemotherapy ? Hundreds of new chemical 

 compounds have been synthesized, and are being investigated in many 

 laboratories. It is not unlikely that drugs less toxic for the human 

 organism, and just as deleterious, if not more so, for bacteria, will 

 be available in the future. At the present time, we are investigating 

 a new preparation at the University Hospital called sulfathiazole. 

 In conclusion, I have endeavored to present to you a general review 

 of this new form of chemotherapy. It is a rapidly developing field 

 and, perhaps in the near future, much of what I have said will be only 

 medical history. 



