SCIENTIFIC PROCEEDINGS. 



Abstracts of Communications. 



One hundred twenty-second meeting. 



Presbyterian Hospital, March 15, IQ22. 

 President Wallace in the chair. 



115 (1862) 



The feeding of non-ketogenic odd-carbon fats to diabetic patients. 



By MAX KAHN. 



[From the Department of Laboratories, Beth Israel Hospital, New 



York City.] 



In certain states of the disturbances of the metabolism of 

 fats and carbohydrates a condition of acidosis is established 

 characterized by the fact that the blood is rich in ke tonic acids of 

 a certain type. To this condition the special name of "ketosis" 

 has been applied. It is induced by starvation, by the toxic effect 

 of lipin solvent anesthetics, and especially by that disturbance 

 of carbohydrate metabolism known as diabetes. 



Under normal conditions, that is, in the presence of proper 

 carbohydrate oxidation, there is a rapid breakdown of the fatty 

 acid fraction of the fats to the four carbon acid, i.e., butyric acid, 

 which is then rapidly catabolized to carbon dioxide and water. 



This process is, however, markedly disturbed in states of 

 deficient carbohydrate oxidation. In the latter circumstance the 

 fats are primarily broken down to butyric acid, as in the normal 

 condition, but in the absence of the heat of carbohydrate consump- 

 tion, the further decomposition of the butyric acid proceeds very 

 gradually. The butyric acid under these conditions is oxidized 

 first to beta-oxybutyric acid, and then to acetoacetic acid, which 

 is decarboxylated to acetone. 



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