724 HENRY G. BAEBOUR 



Potassium, Lithium and Other Salts. Outside of the importance of 

 the potassium ion in preserving the retaining power of the glomeruli for 

 dextrose practically no metabolic eifects peculiar to potassium salts have 

 heen demonstrated. They are, however, said to antagonize the beneficial 

 effects of calcium in parathyroid tetany (MacCallum and Voegtlin). 

 These ion relations in tetany appear, however, to concern rather the 

 irritability of muscle than the metabolism (Zybell, cited by Gamble). 



Salts of lithium, rubidium, cesium, etc., are more toxic than the corre- 

 sponding sodium or potassium salts. Specific metabolic effects have not 

 been shown. Lithium does not form soluble urates in the presence of 

 sodium or potassium, which fact disposes of its formerly alleged value 

 in gout 



Bromids. Chlorids and bromids mutually increase the elimination 

 of one another. The theory of Wyss, however, that the therapeutic action 

 of bromids is due to chlorid-deprivation is not sound, for simple dechlora- 

 tion exerts no antispasmodic effect. Furthermore, Janusche has shown 

 that bromid depression can be neither efficiently antagonized by sodium 

 chlorid administration nor reenforced by chlorid-poor food. 



Bromids appear to 'reduce the edema of uranium poisoning, stimu- 

 lating the retarded water and chlorid excretion (Laeva). 



Boenniger claimed that bromid administration may save animals 

 from chlorid starvation and replace completely the chlorid of the serum, 

 but Bernoulli finds that, the replacement by bromid of more than 40 per 

 cent of the blood chlorid is generally fatal. 



The protein metabolism remains uninfluenced even by large doses of 

 bromids; for example, Chittenden and Culbert found it unchanged dur- 

 ing ten days in which 46 grams of potassium bromid were given. In 

 experiments upon himself Schultze observed an average reduction of 19 

 per cent in the phosphate excretion following 10 gram doses of potassium 

 bromid ; the excretion of nitrogen and sulphur, however, remained un- 

 affected. Japelli(a) in more recent investigations found little or no effect 

 upon the total nitrogen or phosphorus excretion, but observed a diminution 

 in the uric acid accompanied by an increase in the purin bases. 



Schabelitz has studied chronic bromism, which leads to emaciation. 

 The administration of chlorid, in addition to stopping the drug, was 

 found to hasten the disappearance of the symptoms. 



lodin and lodids. In very exact experiments Magnus-Levy was 

 unable to detect any influence of potassium iodid or of iodin upon the 

 total metabolism of either healthy or obese persons; 3-10 grams of potas- 

 sium iodid or 4-10 .drops of tincture of iodin were given daily over a 

 period of weeks. Magnus-Levy further found iodin inactive in a case of 

 myxedema in which the metabolism had been notably stimulated by 

 iodothyrin. The only case in which he observed any increase in the total 

 oxidations under iodids was that of an emphysematous patient in whom 



