208 



Scientific Proceedings (68). 



hypertonic solution the uterus no longer reacts to serum or to 

 proteotoxin. 



The absence of reaction is due to a lessened irritability of the 

 smooth muscle. Since the uterus is a typical example of a smooth 

 muscle organ, it is very likely that all smooth muscle fails to react 

 to proteotoxin when it is bathed in hypertonic solution. Such a 

 decrease in irritability of smooth muscle will explain the protection 

 against proteotoxin which an intravenous injection of concentrated 

 salt solution affords. 



124 (1056) 



Clinical and experimental studies in chemotherapy with ethyl- 

 hydrocuprein in measles, scarlet fever and other infections. 



By Arthur D. Hirschfelder and Frederic H. Schlutz. 



[From the Department of Pharmacology and the Department of 

 Medicine, Division of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota.] 



Morgenroth and his collaborators have demonstrated the 

 prophylactic and curative and prophylactic powers of ethylhydro- 

 cuprein, a quinin derivative, in pneumococcus septicemia in mice. 



The writers have given ethylhydrocuprein hydrochloride in 

 doses of 0.1 to 0.5 G. three times a day by mouth to 7 cases of 

 scarlet fever whose fever then had an average duration of 8.9 days 

 as compared with 7.4 in 7 untreated cases who came under the 

 same conditions in the same epidemic. In eleven unselected 

 cases of measles, however, treated with the same drug, the average 

 duration was 4.3 days as compared with an average duration of 

 7.9 days in ten untreated cases. One child who received the drug 

 at the onset of symptoms, however, had an illness of 5 days' 

 duration in spite of the early treatment. 



The above experience seems to warrant the clinical use of 

 ethylhydrocuprein in the treatment of measles, but not in scarlet 

 fever. 



Negative results with ethylhydrocuprein were obtained in 

 experimental rabies and experimental vaccinia, also in trachoma. 



