EFFECTS OF CERTAIN DEUGS AND POISONS 725 



the drug aroused a febrile reaction towards the close of each day. Magnus- 

 Levy's negative results have been confirmed. 



According to Christoni iodids may increase the excretion of urea, 

 total nitrogen, uric acid, purin bases and chlorids. 



Hunt and Seidell have shown that thyroid preparations are efficient 

 in treatment in proportion to their iodin content. 



Recent investigations upon the catabolic effect of various thyroid prep- 

 arations appear to indicate that the increase in nitrogen elimination is 

 proportional to their iodin content (Courvoisier, Peillon, Lanz). 



Swingle maintains that iodin is the specific agent by which amphibian 

 metamorphosis is accelerated when thyroid substance is fed. 



Treatment and Prevention of Goiter. Iodin becomes rapidly fixed 

 in the thyroid; Marine and Rogoff(&) ascertained that the fixation end- 

 point is reached five minutes after the intravenous injection into dogs of 

 50 milligrams of potassium iodid. 



The careful administration of iodids causes a regression of active 

 thyroid hyperplasia into the relatively harmless colloid type of goiter. 

 For this purpose Marine (a) advocates syrup of ferrous iodid in doses grad- 

 ually increasing from 0.3 -to 1.2 c.c. per day. 



The prevention of goiter by iodid has been definitely achieved by 

 Kimball and Marine. They fed 2-4 grams sodium iodid (in ten equal 

 doses) to school girls in Akron, Ohio, none of whom became goiterous. 

 Twenty-six per cent of the control series of girls (according to expecta- 

 tion in that locality) showed definitely enlarged thyroid glands. Hun- . 

 ziker suggests the use of iodin-rich manures in regions where goiter is 

 endemic and vegetation lacks the standard proportion of iodin. He 

 further suggests the admixture of iodin with table salt. 



Toxic effects are often seen in goiterous (especially Basedow) patients 

 if the large doses of iodids commonly employed in other diseases are ad- 

 ministered. The symptoms, which include emaciation and fever, are 

 detailed by Oswald ( b ) . Acute untoward effects of intravenous or subcutan- 

 eous injections of iodids include pulmonary exudation and edema besides 

 pericardial effusion. According to Chiari and Janusche these may be pre- 

 vented by calcium injections. 



The destructive effect of iodids upon pathological growths, particu- 

 larly gummata, has never been completely explained. Jobling and Peter- 

 son believe that they restrain the antitryptic activity of serum and tissues, 

 thus permitting autolytic digestion to proceed. Full doses of iodid in 

 man greatly lower the anti-ferment index of the serum. 



Salts of Organic Acids Oxalates. Salts of oxalic acid possess no 

 known therapeutic value. Many of their effects are doubtless due to 

 calcium deprivation. Sarvonat and Roubier found that sodium oxalate 

 diminishes the calcium content of the soft tissues before affecting the 

 bones. 



