274  Notes  on  Some  New  Remedies.  {^'^june'iS^'"'" 
Sulfonal  is  a  new  hypnotic,  which  has  been  experimented  with  by 
Professor  A.  Kast  [Berl.  hlin.  Wochenschr.,  1888,  No.  16),  and  was 
found  to  produce  on  animals  no  untoward  or  deleterious  effects  even 
when  given  in  large  doses.  Taken  by  healthy  persons,  sulfonal  has  no 
effect  or  merely  produces  a  sensation  of  lassitude  and  fatigue,  and  but 
rarely  induces  sleep ;  but  in  patients  suffering  from  wakefulness  from 
various  causes,  sound  and  quiet  sleep  was  produced  in  from  thirty  minutes 
to  two  hours,  and  lasting  for  from  five  to  eight  hours.  The  medium 
dose  is  from  2  to  3  gm.,  but  even  doses  of  4  gm.  given  at  short  inter- 
vals alternating  with  medium  doses  have  no  ill  effects. 
Sulfonal  is  prepared  by  E.  Baumann  {Berichte  d.  d.  Chem.  Ges., 
1886,  p.  2808)  by  oxidizing  dithioethyl-dimethyl-methane  with 
potassium  permanganate  in  the  presence  of  a  little  acetic  or  sulphuric 
acid.  It  crystallizes  from  boiling  water  in  colorless  thick  prisms  or 
plates,  is  inodorous  and  tasteless,  sparingly  soluble  in  cold  alcohol,  more 
freely  soluble  in  ether,  chloroform  and  benzol,  and  requires  about  100 
parts  of  cold  water  or  about  18  parts  of  boiling  w^ater  for  solution.  It 
melts  between  130°  and  131°  C,  and  boils  near  300°  ;  the  yellowish 
distillate  again  yields  the  pure  compound  on  recrystallization.  Its  com- 
position is  diethylsulfone-dimethyl-methane=i(CH3)2  C  (SO2  C2  115)2. 
It  is  not  decomposed  by  boiling  with  alkalies.  Hot  sulphuric  acid 
gradually  decomposes  it.  It  dissolves  in  concentrated  sulphuric  or  nitric 
acid,  and  is  reprecipitated  on  the  addition  of  water.  Its  solution  in  bro- 
mine, on  evaporation,  leaves  the  unaltered  compound. 
Mercuric  alaninate  has  been  prepared  by  Dr.  E.  DeLuca  {La  Ri- 
forma  Medico)  by  dissolving  one  part  of  alanin  in  20  parts  of  distilled 
water,  heating  to  boiling,  saturating  with  mercuric  oxide,  filtering, 
evaporating  and  crystallizing.  The  compound  is  in  whitish  micro- 
scopic needles  grouped  in  crosses  and  tufts,  and  soluble  in  three  parts 
of  water,  the  solution  being  colorless  and  permanent  on  exposure  to 
air  and  light.  In  dilute  solutions  it  will  not  coagulate  albumen ;  in 
concentrated  solutions  its  coagulating  power  is  limited  to  its  causing  a 
cloudiness  of  that  part  of  the  liquid  with  which  it  comes  immediately 
in  contact.  In  other  respects  it  has  the  general  properties  of  other 
salts  of  mercury.  Preliminary  experiments  on  animals  showed  that 
the  compound  was  not  very  poisonous.  On  his  patients  Dr.  DeLuca 
used  it  in  solutions  of  4,  8  and  10  milligrams  to  1  cc.  of  distilled 
water,  both  for  internal  use  and  for  injections,  subcutaneous  or  inter- 
muscular.   The  daily  quantity  used  on  each  adult  patient  was  from  5 
