306 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INDIANA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



were made by observations upon humans. Blood taken from monkeys 

 or persons who have recovered from poliomyelitis when brought in contact 

 with virulent virus has the power of rendering the latter inert, whereas the 

 blood from normal animals has no effect. 



Because of the similarity in some respects of the virus of poliomyelitis 

 and rabies it was suggested and hoped that methods which are used to im- 

 munize against the latter could likewise be used against poliomyelitis. The 

 Hogyes antirabic method which is to inject with sub-lethal doses and grad- 

 ually increase until lethal doses are used, has been attempted and has afforded 

 monkeys protection and immune bodies have been demonstrated in their 

 blood. The method however, is not applicable because in some instances 

 immunity was not obtained and unexpected paralysis resulted. Levaditi 

 and Landsteiner were able in some eases to produce immunity by repeatedly 

 injeetmg suspensions of the spinal cord as per Pasteur method. The same 

 condition of uncertainty followed when the virus containing material was 

 heated to 55°-60° C. or treated with chemicals — phenol and formalin. An- 

 impls injected with immune serum plus virus according to Flexnor and Lewis 

 do not become immune. Immunity experiments show that the poliomj^e- 

 litis and rallies virus are not similar not only because of the above facts 

 but also because animals immunized against Rabies are susceptible to the 

 virus of poliomyelitis. 



It was hoped that animals miglit be temrjorarily protected, rendered 

 passively immune, by transferring the blood from immune persons or mon- 

 keys to healthy ones, it was found that this could be actually done but 

 the artificial immunity was only of very short duration as well as somewhat 

 uncertain and therefore this method is not practical from the prophylactic 

 standpoint . 



Flexiior and lewis, aiid ollicrs, luivc ol)taine(I favorable ri'sults by re- 

 peated intra-si)inal injei'tions of immune .serum into infected monkeys. 

 This method is not practical because of the source and the verv limited 

 amount of immune serum. Anti-rabic serum showed no germicidal or pro- 

 tective action against the virus of infantile paralvsis. 



Attempts at serum diagnosis by the complement-fixation test have in 

 general proven unsuccessful. Rfimer and Joseph; Gay and Luccas were 

 not able to demonstrate conplement-fixation substances in the serous spinal 

 fluid or in the blood of uersons or monkeys affected with the disease. 



Wiiat can be said of serum treatment in general holds true for chemicals 

 Ilexametliylenamin is according to experiments performed on monkeys, 

 sometimes <'iTeetive if used \ ery early in the course of the disea.s(\ 



Apparently the best treatment to prevent paralysis is total rest. 



Recently a peculiar polymorphous streptococcus and its etiologic relation 

 to poliomyelitis was described by E. C. Rosenow, Towne and Wheeler. 

 Ascitfw media ctmtaining sterile tissue was used in the cultivation of this 

 organism and pure cultures wen^ obtained fnjm throats, tonsils, abscesses in 

 tonsils and from llic central nervous system in cases of ])oliomyelitis. Fh^xnor 



