NOVEMBEK 3, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



515 



thalene-sulfonie acid and found that the most 

 active trypanocidal agent Tvas a dye prepai-ed 

 by the Bayer firm. Little notice was taken of 

 this "work, and the discovery of salvarsan 

 diverted attention fi'om the trypanocidal dyes 

 to ithe organic arsenic compounds. The Bayer 

 firm, however, continued to inves-tigate the 

 trypanocidal dyes and discovered that com- 

 pounds of this type which were not dyes might 

 still be active trypanocidal agents. They took 

 out a large numiber of patents, and the type of 

 compound to which the fii-m has paid special 

 attention is represented by the following 

 formula : 



so B 

 3 



A number of substances of this type have 

 been found to be very active trypanocides, and 

 probably Bayer 205 is a derivative of this type. 

 Bayer 205 is a white powder, freely soluble in 

 water, forming a colorless solution, which can 

 be sterilized. Animal experiments- have shown 

 that it is an extraordinarily powerful trypano- 

 cidal agent, and that a single dose of it will 

 produce immunity to trypanosomes for several 

 weeks or even months. Mayer and Zeiss, for 

 instance, found it cured infection with five 

 different kinds of trypanosomes, that the ratio 

 between the minimal lethal and minimal cura- 

 tive doses was as high as 167 to 1, and that a 

 single dose of 3 mg. rendered a mouse immune 

 to trypanosomes for three months. Recur- 

 rences were found to be extremely rare when 

 infected mice were given a single curative dose 

 of the drug. 



The various workers have reported curative 

 effects on trypanosomal infections in mice, rats, 

 guinea-pigs, rabbits, dogs and horses. In Eng- 

 land Wenyon^ found that the drug was an ex- 

 traordinarily effective trypanocidal agent. A 



2 Haendel and Joetten, Bull. Instit. Pasteur, 

 131, 19, 1921; Mayer and Zeiss, Hid., 133, 19, 

 1921; Walther and Pfeiler, ihid., 380, 19, 1921; 

 Miessner and Berge, iUd., 380, 19, 1921; Mayer, 

 ibid., 248, 20, 1922; Sehuckmann, ibid., 247, 20, 

 1922. 



3 Wenyon, British Medical Journal, 1921, ii, 

 746. 



brilliant success has been reported in a case of 

 sleeping sickness."* ^ The ease was of a year's 

 standing, and had been treated unsuccessfully 

 with arsenic, antimony and emetine. Tour 

 doses of "205," making a itotal of 3.5 grams, 

 were given. A few hours after the first dose 

 the fever disappeared, and a complete cure ap- 

 pears to have been produced, for four months 

 later there were no signs of recurrence of the 

 disease. 



The drug therefore appears to be a trypano- 

 cidal remedy of the first importance, and the 

 fact that a single dose confers prolonged immu- 

 nity to trypanosomes suggests that it will be of 

 the greatest value as a prophylactic. A com- 

 mission of German doctors is now in Ehodesia 

 testing the drug, and our knowledge as to its 

 action in man will soon be much more exten- 

 sive. The discovery of "205" promises to mark 

 a great advance in tropical medicine, but it is a 

 remarkable fact that England should be de- 

 pendent on Germany for this advance in trop- 

 ical medicine, for at present Germany has not a 

 single colony, while England has the largest 

 tropical empire in the world. It is not a posi- 

 tion of which we have any reason to be proud, 

 but its cause is simple. Germany appreciates 

 the value of pharmacological research and we 

 do not. — 27(6 British Medical Journal. 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



Smell, Taste and Allied Senses in the Verte- 

 brates. G: H. Parkee. Philadelphia and 

 London, J. B. lippinccytt Co., 1922, 192 

 pages, $2.50. 



This little volume includes chapters on the 

 Nature of Sense Organs, Anatomy of the Olfac- 

 tory Organ, Physiology of Olfadtion, Vomero- 

 nasal Organ or Organ of Jacobson, The Com- 

 mon Chemical Sense, Anatomy of the Gusta- 

 tory Organ, Physiology of Gustation, and 

 Interrelation of the Chemical Senses. In view 

 of the author's long sustained interest in prob- 

 lems of integration of structure and function 

 and his numerous successful experimental 



4 Muhlens and Menk, Muench. med. Woch., 

 1488, 40, 1921. 



15 Yorke, Ann. Trop. Med. and Faras., 479, 15, 

 1921. 



