MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES 211 



first part of this article which concerns patients sensitive to bacterial 

 proteins, it was shown that in general a favorable prognosis could be 

 anticipated irrespective of the age of onset of asthma or the age of 

 the patient when treated. With the nonsensitive patients, however, 

 the later the age of onset and the later the age of the patient when 

 treatment is begun, the more unfavorable the prognosis. The duration 

 of asthma alone played little part in the prognosis in either type of 

 case. Seventy-five per cent, of the sensitive patients were relieved 

 of asthma by treatment with the proteins to which they were sensi- 

 tive, whereas only 40 per cent, of the nonsensitive patients were re- 

 lieved of asthma by treatment with vaccines. The permanency of 

 relief of asthma in the sensitive patients was of much longer duration 

 than in the nonsensitive patients. Both the sensitive and the nonsen- 

 sitive patients illustrate specificity in the treatment of bronchial 

 asthma; that is, the specificity of proteins in the treatment of sensi- 

 tive cases and the specificity of bacteria in the treatment of nonsensi- 

 tive cases. We have, however, only inferred that nonsensitive asth- 

 matic patients are not benefited by treatment with proteins. Because 

 of the more or less general belief that infections may be alleviated 

 by nonspecific protein therapy and in the case of chronic arthritis 

 this is frequently found to be true it seems worth while to mention 

 our results in the treatment of the infectious or nonsensitive type of 

 bronchial asthma with proteins. 



"Many of the nonsensitive or infectious type of asthmatics have 

 been treated with various proteins. Three patients who were in the 

 hospital wards because they were having severe asthma every day 

 were given, intravenously, typhoid vaccine without improvement in 

 the asthmatic symptoms. A week later a larger dose was given 

 without any benefit. After this the patients were given, subcutane- 

 ously, two hundred million autogenous streptococcus vaccine made 

 from their sputum in dextrose bouillon. A few days later one patient 

 was somewhat improved, another seemed a little better and the third 

 was not improved. A week later still the autogenous vaccine was in- 

 creased to 250 million and a few days after this one patient was very 

 much better, another was considerably improved and the third was 

 somewhat better. The autogenous vaccine was given each week with 

 gradual improvement in each instance until two patients left the 

 hospital three weeks later and the third patient was able to leave 

 in five weeks. Therefore, the intravenous typhoid vaccine was fol- 

 lowed by no benefit, whereas the autogenous streptococcus vaccine was 

 followed by a gradual though distinct improvement. Several of the 

 nonsensitive summer asthmatics and some of the other nonsensitive 

 cases were given courses of treatment with various pollen without 

 benefit. A few nonsensitive patients were given wheat proteins and 

 a few were given large doses of peptone subcutaneously without bene- 

 fit. This latter method of treatment is dangerous unless the patient 



