Abstract
The beneficial effects obtained with B. acidophilus have raised some interesting problems. One of the most recent to receive attention is the influence of B. acidophilus ingestion on intestinal putrefaction, particularly as measured by the excretion of indican in the urine. Kopeloff 1 has demonstrated the therapeutic value of B. acidophilus milk in correcting constipation in psychiatric patients. The present investigation is concerned with the indican excretion of these patients as compared with that of a similar group which had received no bacillary treatment. It was undertaken because of the frequent assertions in the literature regarding the intimate and causal relationship between indicanuria and mental disease; and with the hope that alleviation of constipation might be found to affect the indican excretion and some light be thereby thrown on the connection between the indican excretion and the mental condition.
About 500 urinalyses were made on 48 psychotic patients of whom 25 were control cases receiving no treatment. Of the controls 4 were extremely constipated, one had diarrhea, and the remaining 20 had good daily defecations. Twenty-four hour specimens of urine were collected and the following determinations made: volume, specific gravity, color, acidity, and indican according to the method of Myers and Fine. A record was kept of the kind and amount of food consumed by each patient daily, and the number and quality of bowel movements. The fecal flora were determined weekly, both plate and microscopic counts. Accepting 5 to 20 mg. daily excretion as the normal limits there were only 13 instances of abnormal excretion in the 500 analyses. Curiously enough six of these occurred in patients having good daily defecations, while six occurred in constipated subjects. The highest value, 46.5 mg., occurred in a patient with diarrhea.
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