Evening star., 1936-04-07

The masked alchemists who concocted
weird elixirs of death for the Borgias
might have gotten a thrill out of
strange poison described before the
American Physiological Society here last
week.
1t is isopropyl-beta-b -bromallyl barbi-
turic acid-one of the barbituric COM
pounds such as are widely used in the
so-called barbiturate anaesthetics. This
substance-as it was described today by
Drs. Harold G. o. Holck and Paul r.
Cannon of the University of Chicago
acts as a delayed action poison which
causes death in rats two or three days
after complete recovery.
The same weird phenomenon also
appears in mice and rabbits-but they
are much more resistant to the poison.
1t seems especially adapted to rats.
Like the other barbiturates, this acid
produces at first a profound depression.
The animal apparently RECEIVERS from
this. But from 48 to 62 hours later there
develops a fatal edema, or flooding of
the air cells of the lungs. This is gen.
orally accompanied by fatty degenera-
tive changes in the lungs. liver, kidneys
and heart. Other barbiturates of similar
composition did not result in the delayed
death.
Evidence for "fat metabolizing hor-
none" Secreted by the pancreaS, but en-
tirely distinct from insulin was presented
before the Psychologists this morning by
Drs. Lester r. DragStedt, John Van
Prohaska and Herman P. Harms of the
University of Chicago. Dogs from whom
the pancreaS was removed, and who were
treated with adequate amounts OF nSulln
to supply the deficiency in this essential
sugar-metabolizing hormone which also
is secreted from the pancreas, suffered
from fatty infiltration and degenera-
tion of the liver.
Development of this condition could be
prevented, the Chicago Psychologists
found, by feeding a fat free residue of
fresh beef pancreaS. This apparently
contained some essential substance for
the metabolism of fat which is as yet
unidentified.
There are at least three chemically
distinct fractions in liver which enters
into the complex which checks perni-
cious anaemia, it was reported by Drs.
Yellapragada Bubbarow and B. M.
OdCOUSOIL VI bLlC I4dA VOL u @sASNAN"A SSAA~S~'
All three of these substances, they
found, must be in liver extract to bring
about the maximum clinical response.
They have identified two of them. One
is a form of tyrosine, a white, silky
crystalline compound which occurs in
various body tissues or is formed when
certain protein compounds are decom-
posed by putrefcation or the action OF
acids. The second is form OF purlne,
one of the uric acid family. The third
is chemically very complex, but acts as
if it were one of the group known as
polypeptides.
Finding of two dogs afflicted with
rare and sometimes fatal human disease
known as cystinuria has opened up a
large new field for experimental med1-
cine, it was reported by Drs. Erwin
Brand and George F. Cahill OF the New
York City Medical Center.
In this disease large amounts Of cystine
one of the sulphur containing proteins
whose presence in the diet Is essential
for life-are not properly metaboltzed
and tend to form stones in the kidney
and bladder which may lead to kidney
destruction and sometimes to death.
Cystinuria is believed to be an he
reditary human disease. The present
prospect is that, by proper breeding,
large number Of animals af1icted with