﻿CHE 
  MOTH 
  ERAPEUTIC 
  AGENTS 
  — 
  "WEINTRAUB 
  547 
  

  

  micro-organisms. 
  As 
  yet, 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  none 
  of 
  these 
  has 
  reached 
  the 
  

   final 
  stage, 
  but 
  already 
  very 
  promising 
  preliminary 
  results 
  have 
  been 
  

   obtained. 
  As 
  is 
  true 
  of 
  most 
  scientific 
  advances, 
  the 
  ultimate 
  flower- 
  

   ing 
  of 
  this 
  field 
  has 
  been 
  preceded 
  by 
  a 
  long 
  preparatory 
  period 
  of 
  

   scattered 
  observations 
  whose 
  practical 
  implications 
  were 
  unrecognized 
  

   or 
  ignored. 
  During 
  the 
  past 
  three 
  -quarters 
  of 
  a 
  century 
  numerous 
  

   examples 
  of 
  antagonistic 
  relationships 
  between 
  various 
  micro-organ- 
  

   isms 
  have 
  been 
  noted. 
  In 
  many 
  instances 
  the 
  inhibitory 
  effects 
  have 
  

   been 
  shown 
  to 
  be 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  toxic 
  materials. 
  In 
  the 
  

   following 
  account 
  an 
  attempt 
  will 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  sketch 
  the 
  development 
  

   and 
  present 
  status 
  of 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  potent 
  antibacterial 
  

   substances 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  obtained 
  from 
  bacteria 
  and 
  fungi. 
  

  

  AGENTS 
  FROM 
  PSEUDOMONAS 
  AERUGINOSA 
  

  

  In 
  1877 
  Pasteur 
  reported 
  that 
  the 
  injection 
  of 
  anthrax 
  bacilli 
  into 
  

   susceptible 
  animals 
  frequently 
  failed 
  to 
  elicit 
  the 
  disease 
  when 
  the 
  

   inoculum 
  was 
  contaminated 
  with 
  "common 
  bacteria" 
  and 
  suggested 
  

   that 
  this 
  observation 
  could 
  "perhaps 
  justify 
  great 
  hopes 
  from 
  a 
  

   therapeutic 
  point 
  of 
  view." 
  A 
  dozen 
  years 
  later 
  two 
  other 
  French 
  

   bacteriologists, 
  working 
  independently, 
  announced 
  that 
  by 
  injecting 
  

   cultures 
  of 
  Pscudomonas 
  aeruginosa, 
  the 
  so-called 
  bacillus 
  of 
  blue 
  

   pus, 
  into 
  rabbits 
  infected 
  with 
  anthrax, 
  an 
  appreciable 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  

   animals 
  was 
  prevented 
  from 
  dying 
  of 
  this 
  disease. 
  

  

  Pyocyanase. 
  — 
  This 
  discovery 
  aroused 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  of 
  interest 
  and 
  it 
  

   was 
  soon 
  shown, 
  first, 
  that 
  a 
  sterilized 
  culture 
  of 
  Pseudomonas 
  could 
  

   be 
  employed 
  in 
  place 
  of 
  the 
  living 
  bacteria, 
  and 
  then 
  that 
  an 
  active 
  

   material 
  could 
  be 
  obtained 
  from 
  the 
  culture 
  fluid 
  itself 
  after 
  removal 
  

   of 
  the 
  cells. 
  Minute 
  amounts 
  of 
  this 
  product, 
  originally 
  believed 
  to 
  

   be 
  an 
  enzyme 
  and 
  designated 
  "pyocyanase" 
  after 
  the 
  old 
  name 
  (Pseu- 
  

   domonas 
  pyocyanea) 
  of 
  the 
  organism, 
  were 
  capable 
  of 
  causing 
  the 
  

   dissolution, 
  or 
  lysis, 
  of 
  billions 
  of 
  cells 
  of 
  staphylococci, 
  pyogenic 
  

   streptococci, 
  the 
  bacilli 
  of 
  diphtheria, 
  plague, 
  typhoid, 
  and 
  anthrax, 
  

   and 
  the 
  cholera 
  vibrio. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  early 
  years 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  century, 
  pyocyanase 
  was 
  

   employed 
  therapeutically 
  to 
  a 
  considerable 
  extent 
  and 
  was 
  produced 
  

   on 
  a 
  commercial 
  scale 
  in 
  Germany. 
  Favorable 
  results 
  were 
  reported 
  

   in 
  the 
  treatment 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  diseases, 
  including 
  anthrax, 
  

   diphtheria, 
  cerebrospinal 
  meningitis, 
  infectious 
  catarrh, 
  wounds 
  and 
  

   abscesses, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  many 
  infections 
  of 
  the 
  eyes, 
  mouth, 
  and 
  skin. 
  

   In 
  general 
  the 
  surface 
  infections 
  were 
  treated 
  with 
  greater 
  success 
  

   than 
  those 
  of 
  more 
  deep-seated 
  occurrence. 
  Later, 
  however, 
  there 
  

   began 
  to 
  accumulate 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  reports 
  of 
  negative 
  and 
  inconsistent 
  

   results, 
  and 
  interest 
  in 
  the 
  therapeutic 
  use 
  of 
  pyocyanase 
  waned. 
  

  

  