Evening star., 1942-11-05
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.


A drug which shows considerable
promise of greatly retarding the course
of tuberculosis Is being developed in the
laboratories of the United States Public
Health Service here.
1t is described as IAN N-phosphoryl
derivative Of diaminodiphenylsulfo
AID is altogether too new to be tagged
with less jaw-breaking name.
Diaminodiphenylsulfon is one of the
scores Of sulfa drugs prepared in the
past few years, only six of which have
found their way into medical practice.
The others, including this one, may have
more or less pronounced effects against
various disease-causing bacteria but are
too poisonous to be used.
Ever since sulfanilamide first became
known pharmacologists have felt that
sooner or later something would be found
which would have an effect on the
deadly tubercle bacillus comparable to
that of the sulfa drugs on the bacteria
causing pneumonia, gonorrhea, menin-
gifts and the various streptococcic In
fections.
All have been tested as they came
from the laboratories. Most of them
have shown some effect against the
bacilli In teSt-tubes and in experimental
guinea pigs, but in each case the dose
required to do any good was very close
to the limit where it became a serious
poison.
BY far the most effective, but also one
OF the most poisonous, was diamino-
diphenylsulfone. It acted against the
heavy -armored tuberculosis bug in much
the same way as other sulfa drugs had
been demonstrated to act against such
organisms as pneumococci-that is, by
preventing them from increasing in
numbers. Then the natural defense
forces Of the body are able to overcome
them. 1t acted this way in test-tubes.
1t also was fairly effective against the
infection in guinea pigs. but 1t was so
poisonous that the doses required were
about sufficient to kill the animal. 1t
was altogether too dangerous to try on
human beings.
The next step was to juggle its MOLE
cule in order to make it less poisonous
but at the samestime to keep its bac-
teriostatic qualities. This work has been
in progress for the past five years in
various laboratories and most of the
new substances obtained have proved
worthless.
This particular substance obtained at
the Public Health Service laboratories
stands out above all the others. Phos-
phorus is substituted for sulfur In parts
OF its molecule. Public Health Service
pharmacologists have admitted it is
more effective both in test tubes and
in guinea pigs than the original sulfur
drug and at the same time is less poison
Gus than most of the rest of the family
They explain, however, that the work
still is highly experimental.
I'VE certainly are not urging its clini-
cal use at this time" said DR.. M, /.
Smith, chief pharmacologist, who has
just reported on the drug, together with
Drs. Sanford M. Rosenthal and E. l..
Jackson. .,.-e,, rcrJ - - r,,~
They made public some Of the details
OF their work, the pharmacologists de-
clared, because, of the rather striking
action against pneumonia.
When sulfanilamide was first intro
duced it appeared to have little action
against the pneumococcus in doses which
could be tolerated The treatment of
pneumonia was revolutionized about q
year later when sulfapyridine was In
troduced from Great Britain. In an
other year came the less poisonous and
more effective sulfathiazine which re-
mains probably the most commonly used
drug against this disease. Now. however.
it is being supplanted by the relatively
new and perhaps less poisonous sulfa-
diazine.
In the course of their work the Pub
lie Health Service armacologists found
that the new drug appeared slightly su-
perlor to sulfadiazine and even while
the tuberculosis experiments are in prog
ress it promises to give the physician a
powerful new weapon.
This is perhaps the first CLEAN of hope
for purely medicinal treatment of the
great white plague which remains one
OF the chief killers of mankind but is
to be considered, DR.. Smith and his COL
leagues say, only q progress report.