VIII. PHARMACOLOGY 509 



<;(MU'i'al hypothesis has also Ihhmi offered as an e\i)laiiali()ii of the fa\'()i-al)lc 

 response observed in oliiec types of |)iiniaiy lihiositis. 



Myositis and other thsoiilers visually ineluded in the catej^ory of ji;en- 

 eralized primary fihrositis have been reported to be benefited by tocopherols 

 whetluM' administered orally"'-' ''^ or in the form of an ointment.**'**^ If 

 other clinicians have had a ditiferent experience, they appear not to have 

 reported it. 



Burgess and Pritchard**^ are of the opinion that tocopherol, through some 

 unexplained action upon the connective tissues, exerts beneficial effects in 

 a variety of collagenoses such as chronic discoid lupus erythematosus, scle- 

 roderma, and oranulomatous ulcers. Although others have reported favor- 

 able results in granuloma inguinale*^^ and in lupus erythematosus (when 

 combined with pantothenic acid therapy^^), still others have recorded nega- 

 tive or questionable results. **^"^- Only further research can clarify this con- 

 troversial question. 



5. Diabetes Mellitus 



a-Tocopherol administration is said to considerably reduce the insulin 

 requirements of diabetics,^^' ^"^ the effect being attributed to improved glyco- 

 gen storage in muscle cells rather than to potentiation of insulin action. 

 On the other hand, other investigators,^^"^" who have studied this question 

 with particular care, have reported only negative results. 



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83 C. J. Sutro and L. J. Cohen, Arch. Surg. 42, 1065 (1941). 



8* M. Ant, N. y. State J. Med. 45, 1861 (1945) ; Industrial Med. 15, 399 (1946) ; Rheuma- 

 tism 6, 114 (1950). 



85 M. M. Kessler, J. Med. Soc. New Jersey 48, 164 (1951). 



86 J. F. Burgess and J. E. Pritchard, Lancet II, 215 (1948); Arch. Dermatol, and 

 Syphilol. 57, 605, 953 (1948); Can. Med. Assoc. J. 59, 242 (1948). 



87 T. Cochrane, Brit. J. Dermatol. Syphilol. 62, 316 (1950). 



88 A. Welsh, Arch. Dermatol, and Syphilol. 65, 137 (1952). 



89 R. D. Sweet, Lancet II, 310 (1948). 



90 J. Morgan, Brit. J. Dermatol. Syphilol. 63, 224 (1951). 



91 H. H. Savvick\-, Arch. Dermatol, and Syphilol. 61, 906 (1950). 



92 F. Pascher, H. H. Sawicky, M. G. Silverberg, M. Braitman, and N. B. Kanof, 

 J. Invest. Dermatol. 17, 261 (1951). 



93 U. Butturini, Giorn. din. med. {Parma) 26, 90 (1945); Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 52, 

 397 (1949). 



9^ A. Vogelsang, Med. Record 161, 363 (1948) ; J. Clin. Endocrinol. 8, 883 (1948); Ann. 



N. Y. Acad. Sci. 52, 406 (1949). 

 95 E. H. Bensely, A. F. Fowler, M. V. Creaghan, F. Zahalan, F. Lax, H. Borish, and 



E. K. McDonald, Can. Med. Assoc. J. 61, 260 (1949). 

 »6G. M. Guest, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 52, 411 (1949). 

 9' H. Pollack, K. E. Osserman, J. J. Bookman, M. Ellenberg, and J. Herzstoiii, Am. 



J. Med. Sci. 219, 657 (1950). 



