23,6 Rodriguez and Eubanas: Leprosy with Antimony 593 



There were naturally some differences in the side effects pro- 

 duced by the oral and the intravenous routes. Abdominal pain 

 was more frequent and of less serious import in the group 

 receiving the drug by mouth. With reference to the kidneys, 

 injury was produced by the intravenous route while no such 

 effects were seen in the other group. Lepra reaction, marked 

 fever usually with cutaneous eruptions, and simple slight fever 

 occurred almost exclusively in the group taking the modified 

 Castellani mixture. It is probable that this reaction is due to 

 the potassium iodide; this drug is well known to have this 

 effect, and it has sometimes been utilized in diagnosis. 



As for the effect on the disease, we have not, with the prep- 

 arations used, been able to confirm the remarkable results of 

 Cawston and Wildish. This is in agreement with the results of 

 Harper 10 of Makogai, who also failed to obtain any improve- 

 ment in two cases to whom he gave tartar emetic intravenously 

 to the amount of 2.795 and 2.99 grams in thirty-five and thirty- 

 seven injections, respectively. 



We regret that we have not been able to use oscol stibium, 

 which Cawston and Wildish used almost exclusively. However, 

 Clark 11 has found that, by pharmacological tests, there is no 

 marked difference between the action of the "colloidal" prepara- 

 tions tested (one of these being oscol stibium) and the same 

 substance in true solution. Furthermore, this worker believes 

 that the results of Wildish and Cawston are very remarkable 

 when a cure was effected by the injection of from 15 to 40 

 milliliters of the preparation when 40 milliliters of oscol 

 stibium contains only 0.02 gram of antimony. In other diseases 

 0.3 to 2.4 grams of antimony was found necessary to produce 

 cures. In fact, simple tartar emetic solution would seem to be 

 more advantageous than oscol stibium in some respects, for 

 while the minimal lethal dose of each for mice is the same, 

 0.015 gram per kilogram of body weight, the minimal curative 

 dose of oscol stibium in experimental trypanosomiasis in mice 

 is more than twice as large as is that of tartar emetic and, con- 

 sequently, the ratio between the curative and the lethal doses is 

 reduced. 



"Harper, P., Brit. Med. Journ. No. 3210 2 (1922) 39. Quoted in 

 Journ. Phil. Is. Med. Ass. 2 (1921) 240. 



"Clark, A. J., Brit. Med. Journ. No. 3242 1 (1923) 273-277. 



