Evening star., 1940-10-16
Doctors Report
On Role Of Two
Body Chemicals
Effect of Histumine
And Histuminuse on
Ailments Described

An lnVeStlgdulOn OF tfle role OF
two body chemicals-histamine and
histaminaSe-on great variety Of
human ailments was reported to the
Medical Society of the District of
Columbia today by Drs Roy Lyman
Sexton, Alan F. Kreglow. John E.
Morris and William A. Withers.
Histamine long has been credited
with role in the various allergies,
such as asthma and hay fever. 1t
can be obtained from the lungs,
skin and liver following such mall
aides or after a surgical shock. In
some way, biologists have believed,
the effect of the allergic substance
was to release undue amounts of it.
But it is essential in the chemistry
of life, DR. Sexton and his associates
point out It activates the secretion
in the stomach of the gastric juices
essential to digestion 1t increases
the peristalsis of the stomach
walls required for the handling of
food. 1t also serves as an inhibitor
of adrenalin in raising the blood
pressure.
Opposite in Action.
Nearly opposite in its action is
hisaminase, which can be extracted
from the mucous membranes of
the intestines and from dried liver.
Presumably the ideal condition
would be a perfect balance. The
cause of allergies, DR.. Sexton and
his associates believe, may be an
inhibition by the allergic substance,
such as ragweed pollen, of the pro-
duction of histaminase rather than
stimulation of the production of his
famine.
A common method of treatment
in the past has been to administer
histaminase for conditions in which
hastamine superfluity was suspected.
The Washington doctors instead are
administering a balanced mixture
of the two substances Nature in
tended. they believe, that they be
balanced in the body. First a dose
of histamine is given to a cat. The
animals blood pressure falls very
rapidly. a common allergic symp-
tom. Then enough histaminase is
administered to bring the blood
pressure just up to normal. This
mixture constitutes biological unit
Immediate Balance.
Normally, they believe. an in
creased production of histamine is
balanced Immediately by increased
histaminase just as disease organ
iSms cause the building up of anti
bodies in the blood stream. Some
times, however. vaccines are neces-
sary to stimulate the production of
these antibodies. Histaminase ad-
ministration thus is comparable to
vaccination
The gigantic problem of medical
preparedness was described at
luncheon yesterday by Maj. Gen.
James c. Magee, surgeon-general of
the Army. In order to meet the
expected needs of an Army of l.
100000, he said, it will be necessary
to increase the 10000 hospital beds
provided for the peacetime Army to
more than 10000, the 1,210 medical
officers to 10,50O and the 61O nurses
to 5000, An enlisted personnel of
IS ,000-nearly half the size of the
whole Regular Army-will be re-
quired.
The first call, Gen. Magee said,
will be on the $4,000 physicians in
the Medical Reserve. Many of
these will be unable to serve and
the list will be exhausted in the first
year. After that, Gen. Magee said,
the Army will have to call on organ
lied medicine.
Better Prepared, He Says.
Medically, he said, the Nation is
better prepared for an emergency
than ever before-due in large part
to the cooperation of the American
Medical Association and the Ma
tional Research Council. The former
is building up complete register of
all the doctors in the United States
to be broken down into age groups,
specialties and places of residence.
1t will prevent such mistakes, he
stressed, as placing expert bac-
teriologists in charge of ambulance
units, such as occurred in the last
war.
Under the direction of the Ma
tional Research Council, he pointed
out, committees of the foremost eX-
perts in the country are investigat-
ing the whole field of medicine to
appraise the value of various treat
ments and to study suggestions. Out