12 The Philippine Journal of Science 1923 



Inadequate treatment— In two kittens (Nos. 8 and 9) treat- 

 ment was discontinued before the maximum tolerated dose had 

 been given. In one (No. 8), after the reappearance of symp- 

 toms, a liberal injection of emetine was entirely unavailing; in 

 the other, small doses of emetine were, given from the begin- 

 ning. The symptoms subsided temporarily and then returned 

 while the animal was under treatment. 



Delayed treatment.— Some of the animals responded so 

 promptly to emetine that it seemed worth while to try the 

 effect of delaying treatment for a day after the diagnosis was 

 established. In one instance a kitten (No. 7), weighing 800 

 grams, was passing blood rich in amoebae four days after in- 

 oculation with a patient's stool. On the next day treatment 

 was commenced, giving 10 milligrams of emetine per kilogram 

 of body weight by rectal injection. On the following day 

 frequent bloody stools were passed, rich in actively motile 

 amoebae. Emetine (10 milligrams per kilogram) was repeated. 

 On the next day the kitten was found dead. Autopsy showed 

 extensive lesions of the bowel, and many amoebse were still 

 slightly motile. 



Effective and tolerated doses.— AW of this experimental work 



has indicated that there is only a small margin between the 



effective and the tolerated doses of emetine, even under favorable 



conditions of commencing treatment early in the disease. In 



adult cats the amoebic infection was sometimes controlled by a 



m e ™ 7 tw °" thirds the tolerated a ™™t (Nos. 17 and 



"^w 8 ^T I reSUlt ' WG aSSUme ' is due t0 the natural 

 resistance of adults to Entamoeba histolytica. In the more- 



lt Ie , kltt6nS ' the margin between th * effective and the 

 tolerated dosage was sometimes very small indeed 



hi7«i?t y laXlS '~ T } ie f treme susce PtibiHty of kittens to E. 

 hstolytica is strikingly illustrated by their successful infec- 

 tZ IV reCemn? prelimina ^ treatment with emetine. 

 luZ kltt ^/ eceiV1 ^ 5 to 10 milligrams of emetine per 

 kUogram of body weight subcutaneously, were inoculated a half 

 hour later with amoebae. All became infected, the incubation 

 period varying from one to five days. In a second experiment 

 two Kittens were infected after receiving similar doses of35e 

 per rectum, both showing a decidedly long period 0" ncuTat on 

 Tn these Preliminary tests, the use of emetine by rectum gave 

 — of affording better results than did the subcutaneous 



