82 PROTEIN THERAPY 



luminal in the treatment of epilepsy, or the treatment of lupus with 

 tuberculin and salvarsan (the latter in this case serving as the non- 

 specific agent) . Our older method of treating syphilis with alternating 

 courses of mercury and iodids made use of this form of a combined 

 specific and nonspecific method for many years; the nonspecific effect 

 of the^iodids is, however, not marked ; the effect is to be sought rather 

 in the effect of the iodids in facilitating the diffusion of the mercury. 

 If a more active agent than iodids is used the mercurialization of the 

 patient can be very rapidly brought about. 



While therefore the local reaction has therapeutic possibilities 

 which should be studied and developed, we must always keep in mind 

 that there are possibilities for harm in the reaction. Just as during a 

 malarial attack a syphilis may flare up (Noel) , so a tuberculous lesion 

 may become activated after a salvarsan injection or a prophylactic 

 vaccination. Veilchenblau has described an apoplectic attack (old 

 syphilitic) in a patient who was given an arthigon injection for a 

 complicating gonorrhea. 



