350 
Pharmacy  of  Tethelin. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1919. 
Object  of  this  Paper. 
Tethelin  is  an  extremely  sensitive  substance ;  even  the  moisture 
attracted  to  it  by  reason  of  its  hygroscopicity  results  in  active  decom- 
position. Air  alone  is  capable  of  bringing  about  decomposition  of 
tethelin  because  tethelin  is  quite  prone  to  oxidation.  Therefore,  in 
dispensing  and  using  tethelin  certain  precautions  must  be  carefully 
observed. 
The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  point  out  the  chemical  character- 
istics of  tethelin  in  so  far  as  they  demand  the  employment  of  par- 
ticular precautions  in  dispensing  and  using  this  sensitive  substance, 
and  in  addition,  to  point  out  the  manner  in  which  this  substance  has 
been  employed. 
Pharmacologic  Action  and  Manner  of  Use. 
Three  of  the  lipoids  especially  concerned  in  the  process  of  growth 
are  cholesterin,  lecithin  and  tethelin.  Cholesterin  and  lecithin  have 
been  extensively  studied.  We  are  indebted  to  Robertson  for  the 
researches  which  have  resulted  in  developing  our  knowledge  of 
tethelin  as  a  powerful  agent  in  influencing  the  process  of  growth  in 
the  animal  body.  It  apparently  retards  growth  when  administered 
to  animals  before  the  age  of  adolescence  and  accelerates  growth  in 
the  post-adolescent  period.2  It  increases  the  rate  of  growth  of  the 
Flexner-Jobling  carcinoma  in  rats  in  the  same  way  as  the  whole 
anterior  lobe  tissue.3 
The  effect  of  tethelin  in  the  process  of  the  repair  of  tissue  was 
studied  by  Robertson  by  experiments  on  wounded  mice.  The  tethe- 
lin was  administered  hypodermically  and  showed  a  stimulating  ac- 
tion on  tissue  repair.4 
Barney5  states  that  "  no  work  has  yet  been  published  on  the  effect 
of  tethelin.  as  an  accelerator  of  repair  in  cases  of  delayed  union  of 
fractures;  but,  reasoning  from  the  basis  that  acromegaly  is  caused 
by  a  hypersecretion  of  the  anterior  lobe  of  the  pituitary,  it  would 
appear  that  tethelin  would  have  a  very  great  value  in  certain  cases 
of  delayed  union,  and  may  we  not  anticipate  less  tedious  results  on 
2  Robertson,  T.  B.,  Jour.  Biolog.  Chem.,  1916,  XXIV,  397. 
3  Robertson,  T.  B.,  and  Theo.  C.  Burnett,  Jour.  Exper.  Medicine,  XXIII, 
1916,  p.  631. 
4  Robertson,  T.  B.,  Jour.  Med.  Assoc.,  LXVI,  1916,  p.  1009. 
5  Barney,  E.  L.,  M.S.,  M.D.,  Jour.  Lab.  and  Clin.  Med.,  Vol.  111,  No.  8, 
May,  1918. 
