THE NONSPECIFIC AGENTS 25 



reaction in connection with injections in a series of mental dis- 

 eases. 



The dosage depends on the preparation. Usually as much as 0.5 

 gm. of the sodium nucleinate is given subcutaneously, this being fol- 

 lowed by a leukocytosis in from 4 to 10 hours after the injection and 

 a febrile reaction which may persist for 24 hours; this is usually 

 mild in character and does not as a rule exceed 2 F. 



A modification of this method is the Nucleohexyl recently prepared. 

 It is a compound of nucleic acid and hexamethylintetramin that is 

 used in 10% solution for intravenous injections. The dosage is about 

 10 c.c. Levy claims to have found it useful in the treatment of 

 typhus fever, 



PROTEIN SPLIT PRODUCTS 



That protein split products will, on injection, increase the tolerance 

 both to further injections and resistance against infection is an ob- 

 servation that has been made quite a number of years ago, among 

 others by Vaughan and his associates in this country. It is only in 

 recent years, however, that the various split products of proteins 

 have come to be recognized as therapeutic agents. Nolf has used 

 proteoses in diseases associated with hemorrhage, as in hemorrhagic 

 diathesis, paroxysmal hemoglobinuria, etc., with the idea of increas- 

 ing the coagulability of the blood. To Liidke belongs the credit of 

 first using proteoses in the treatment of acute infections. Nolf be- 

 gan their use for this purpose somewhat later and since then a large 

 number of clinicians have published their results with this dis^ 

 tinctly "protein therapy" as it came to be termed. 



In our experience a variety of proteoses (albumoses) prepared from 

 different proteins, will give a very prompt and satisfactory reaction. 

 It has been shown at various times that the primary proteoses are 

 somewhat more toxic than the secondary proteoses for animals, but in 

 therapeutic injections the difference in effect may not be appreciable. 

 Liidke used deuteroalbumoses, these being now prepared commercially 

 for therapeutic use in Germany. 



The derivation of the protein split product that is used is of con- 

 siderable importance in regard to its toxicity. Schittenhelm and 

 Weichardt in their studies noted the difference in toxicity of protein 

 split products derived from different native proteins. Kaznelson study- 

 ing this question with particular reference to the therapeutic use of 

 deutero-albumoses tried out deutero-albumose prepared from fibrin, 

 from gelatin, from wheat, horn, silk, etc. Injected subcutaneously 

 they were all followed by considerable local pain at the site of the 

 injection. Intragluteally the local reaction of these albumoses dif- 

 fered little from that following milk injection. The intravenous 

 effect differed considerably. Thus the hetero-albumoses prepared from 



