ASO Group Research Articles

Rubella: Frequency of antibody among children and adults and isolation of the virus from fetal tissues, a report from the Collaborative Study of Cerebral Palsy

We believe this study supplies data to support a multiple etiology concept of acute glomerulonephritis. Dr. Etteldorf inquired into the antibiotic history since these drugs have been shown to prevent a significant rise in the ASO titer. Only 2 children in each group received antibiotic therapy previous to hospitalization. The 2 children in the low ASO group did not receive penicillin but a tetracycline. Since antibiotics were used in only 2 out of 12 children, we feel that antibiotics could not be responsible for the low ASO titer. Dr. Burke was concerned with chronleity and asked for functional clearances to help differentiate acute from chronic nephritis. We did not do creatinine or inulin clearances but we did follow our patients with sedimentation rate and Addis count determinations. You will remember that most of our children in the low ASO group had recovered within three months, suggesting an acute process ra ther than a chronic process.

Role of the NH2, OH and As = As Groups in Parasitotoxic Action of Arsphenamine Derivatives

Some of the derivatives of arsphenamine differ from one another considerably in their in vitro toxicity towards trypanosomes but are more alike in their chemotherapeutic activity. The reasons for this are probably manifold. The chemotherapeutically active compounds may be of the RAsO type (Ehrlich, Voegtlin and Smith) and the rates of formation of the substituted arsenious oxides from the RAs = AsR forms may differ, Mayer and Maschmann have suggested that the in vitro toxicity is due mainly to the other groups substituted on the benzol ring. In order to draw conclusions as to the role of single groups in the toxicity, we have compared the toxic action of neoarsphenamine on Trypanosoma equiperdum, and also the color reaction of the drug with osmic acid, with the same properties of compounds of the RAsO type, lacking one or both of the substituted groups, OH and NH2 possessed by the arsenious oxide corresponding to arsphenamine. The reaction of neoarsphenamine with osmic acid (Hiramatsu). To attempt to determine the amount of unchanged neoarsphenamine in a solution of the same exposed to the air, we used Hiramatsu's osmic acid colorimetric method, claimed by the author to determine quantitatively small amounts of neoarsphenamine even in the presence of protein. That a purple color is given by unoxidized solutions of neoarsphenamine or of 3-amino-4-hydroxyphenylarsenious oxide (“Arsenoxide”) was confirmed. It was further observed that the reaction can be prevented by the addition of sufficient sodium thioglycollate (a few drops of M/20 NaOOCCH2SH in about 2 cc. of M/2000 neoarsphenamine or “Arsenoxide”). Although the color is probably due to the formation of colloidal osmium after reduction of osmic acid by the arsenical, the inhibition of reaction by thioglycollate was first interpreted as an action on the —As = As— or the —AsO groups (formation of thioarsenites, Cohen, King and Strange ways).