MECHANISM OF ANTI-ANAPHYLAXIS 149 



With a decreased dose the shock does not take place, which 

 means that the combination of the antigen with the antibody 

 becomes a poison only if the two substances be mixed in 

 certain definite proportions. If the total pathogenic dose is 

 injected in non-pathogenic fractions, the successively formed 

 combinations never become a "poison," and it is found that 

 after one, or after a series of these preventive injections, the 

 blood of the animal so treated no longer contains precipitating 

 antibodies. It is, therefore, to use Besredka's expression, 

 " restored anew," or, to be more exact, it begins a new period 

 of incubation. 



The reactions obtained by the " vaccinotherapy " of Al. 

 Wright should be classified in the same category. This 

 method which is based on the principles of Pasteur's preven- 

 tive vaccination, in reality owes its success to anti-anaphy- 

 lactic reactions. In acute infectious diseases, the appearance 

 of symptoms coincides with the appearance of antibodies in 

 excess, and the result of an injection of killed or attenuated 

 bacilli is to neutralize this excess antibody. At the same 

 time the symptoms of the disease disappear. 



It follows of necessity that the pathological manifestations 

 of disease are anaphylactic in nature, and that the result of 

 the introduction into the organism of a* suitable dose of 

 antigen is not only to forestall an anaphylactic crisis, but 

 also to cure the crises as they develop. 



Attention must be drawn to the fact, however, that this 

 distinction between the preventive and the curative anaphy- 

 lactic actions is far more apparent than real. The course of 

 an acute infectious disease (such as typhoid fever), is made 

 up in reality of a series of crises succeeding each other more 

 or less rapidly so that by interfering at a given time, one 

 probably does not affect the current crisis, but prevents the 

 birth of the crisis which would otherwise have followed. 



Richet's experiments were thus the origin of a series of 

 researches undertaken, in addition to those previously men- 

 tioned, by many scientists of all countries, von Pirquet, 

 Friedberger, Schick, Auer, Ascoli, Nicolle, Doerr, Russ, 

 Bidl, Eisenberg, Vaughan, Jobling, Wheeler, Novy, de 

 Kruif, Levaditi, Mutermilch, and others. ... It would 

 take much too long to give here even a short analysis. 



