Further observations on anaphylactoid phenomena from different agents,including histamin. 1

Abstract

Of the twenty-five different agents which were injected intravenously into guinea pigs, the following caused anaphylactoid symptoms: Colloidal arsenic, kaolin, blood charcoal, colloidal iron, ten per cent. sodium chloride (?), tragacanth, toxified agar, lung extract, glacial acetic acid, copper sulphate, fuller's earth, sodium oxalate, sodium citrate, tannin, tartar emetic and histamin. Especially noteworthy were the results after injection of histamin, which produced symptoms with the very small dosage of 0.00011 mgm. per gram of animal. All of these agents, except the chloride and citrate, produced thrombi in the pulmonary blood vessels. The appearance of pulmonary thrombi (platelet) after the injection of histamin agrees with the observation of Dale and Laidlaw, who detected the presence of platelet thrombi in the blood of cats in histamin shock. Histamin also causes agglutination of human, avian, guinea pig, dog and cat red blood corpuscles “in vitro,” which is consistent with the formation of thrombi and emboli “in vivo.”

The following agents, caramel (so per cent.), cane sugar, casein, calcium lactate, lutein extract, horse serum, colloidal gold (sensitive), colloidal gold (protected) and colloidal sulphur (saturated), did not cause anaphylactoid symptoms. Pulmonary thrombi were not demonstrable after cane sugar, sodium chloride, casein, calcium lactate, horse serum and colloidal gold (sensitive).

Cane sugar and sodium chloride (hypertonic solutions) have been advocated and used for the prevention and treatment of anaphylactoid symptoms. The rationale of this is not understood, but is alleged to be concerned with alterations in the physical-chemical properties of the colloids of the blood. Accordingly, attempts were made to treat anaphylactoid symptoms produced by kaolin, histamin, acacia, and beef serum by preliminary injections of 50 per cent. cane sugar and of 10 per cent. sodium chloride. However, the results obtained were uniformly negative as to prevention of symptoms and thrombi.