Am.  Jour.  Pharni.  \ 
October,  1895.  / 
Editorial. 
541 
THE  MEDICINAL  VALUE  OF  THE  RARER  ELEMENTS. 
The  paper  on  page  511  of  this  issue,  by  Mr.  H.  C.  Demming,  may  strike  some 
as  being  in  advance  of  our  present  knowledge,  but  a  little  more  careful  study 
will  show  that  it  is  full  of  practical  suggestions.  The  compounds  of  the  rare 
metals  may  possess  valuable  curative  powers,  and  they  should  receive  careful 
attention,  not  because  they  are  rare,  but  because  they  have  specific  properties 
which  have  never  been  investigated. 
At  the  present  time  uranium  nitrate  is  on  trial  in  the  treatment  of  diabetes 
mellitus,  and  an  article  in  the  British  Medical  Journal  for  August  24th  gives  the 
experience  of  Dr.  Samuel  West,  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  London,  with 
this  agent.  Chittenden,  in  1888,  showed  that  full  doses  of  uranium  salts  pro- 
duced in  dogs  acute  parenchymatous  nephritis,  with  much  albumin  in  the 
urine.  Further  investigation  by  Dr.  West  showed  that  even  in  small  quanti- 
ties uranium  and  its  salts  had  an  inhibitory  influence  on  amylolytic  and  pro- 
teolytic action,  so  that  a  few  drops  of  a  1  per  cent,  solution  of  the  nitrate  pre- 
vented the  action  of  ptyalin,  and  a  rather  larger  quantity  that  of  pepsin  and 
trypsin. 
The  effect  on  the  human  subject  has  been  to  greatly  retard  if  not  inhibit  the 
secretion  of  glucose.  In  the  hospital  experiments  two  salts  were  employed — 
the  nitrate  and  the  double  chloride  of  uranium  and  quinine.  It  was  found  that 
the  best  method  of  administering  the  nitrate  was  by  free  dilution  with  water, 
and  after  food,  commencing  with  a  small  dose  of  one  or  two  grains  twice  daily 
after  the  chief  meals,  and  increasing  the  dose  slowly  at  intervals  of  a  few  days, 
until  its  effect  was  produced.  As  much  as  fifteen  and  twenty  grains  were 
given  three  times  a  day  without  causing  irritation  of  the  stomach  and  bowels. 
We  may  expect  ere  long  to  have  physicians  call  for  compounds  of  all  the 
rarer  elements. 
THE  NATIONAL  FORMULARY. 
The  Kentucky  Pharmaceutical  Association  has  issued  a  circular  calling  atten- 
tion to  its  issue  of  an  epitome  of  the  National  Formulary,  in  accordance  with 
the  action  of  the  Association  at  its  meeting  in  1894,  when  the  President,  Mr. 
R.  J.  Snyder,  made  the  suggestion  that  an  epitome  be  prepared  and  supplied  to 
members  at  actual  cost  price,  so  as  to  enable  them  to  deliver  the  book  to  physi- 
cians with  their  compliments,  and  in  that  way  induce  the  latter  to  prescribe 
legitimate  remedies  whose  composition  is  known. 
A  similar  suggestion  was  made  by  Mr.  John  F.  Patton  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Pharmaceutical  Association,  and  published  in  this  Journal,  1894,  page  330,  but 
it  did  not  receive  any  further  attention  at  the  hands  of  that  body,  probably 
because  it  was  recommended  to  give  the  National  Formulary  as  it  is  now  pub- 
lished to  physicians.  A  suggestion  similar  to  that  of  the  Kentucky  Association 
was  made  in  the  meeting  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association  last  year, 
at  Asheville  ;  and  this  year,  at  Denver,  Council  was  given  power  to  act. 
The  epitome,  as  issued  by  the  Kentucky  Association,  is  a  small,  leather-bound, 
vest-pocket  edition,  containing  fifty-three  pages,  and  is  so  arranged  that  the 
name  (according  to  scientific  nomenclature),  ingredients  and  quantity  in  each 
dose,  and  general  medical  properties  of  each  preparation,  can  be  seen  at  a  glance. 
A  therapeutic  index  has  also  been  added,  whereby  a  number  of  formulas  may 
be  found  for  the  same  indications. 
