Some suggestions for rational auto-serum therapy

Abstract

Assuming that certain dermatoses as well as intestinal and respiratory disturbances may be due to hypersensitiveness of certain individuals to various proteins, a number of investigators suggested that the onset of acute pathologic phenomena in such cases may be due to the appearance in the circulation of specific protein, causing anaphylactic reaction. On the basis of this assumption various authors have successfully applied the method of immunization in the treatment of such conditions. In cases where the identity of protein in question was obvious from the history of the case, or where the different methods have permitted to disclose its nature by a special investigation, the treatment consists in immunization of patient by repeated injections of the specific protein. In those cases where the nature of protein could not be determined, it was suggested to use the blood of the patient, as a carrier of antigen. If the presence of antigen in the blood of a sensitized individual causes anaphylactic phenomena, it is evident that during the periods of freedom from symptoms the patient's blood is probably free from circulating antigen. This fact is lost sight of by many authors who in applying the auto-serum therapy presumably on the basis of the above described theoretical considerations collect the blood at regular intervals without any regard as to whether such blood contains free circulating antigen or not.

Much has been written of late on therapy by parenteral introduction of nonspecific proteins 1 and it is possible, if the observations of the clinicians are correct, that the therapeutic effects of promiscuous injections of patient's own serum are due to some other phenomena than that of immunization by the circulating antigen. 2 Though in such cases apparently injections of normal horse serum can be expected to give just as good results, human serum is evidently to be preferred in order to avoid an additional sensitization to a horse protein.