Abstract
Hess, in collaboration with Windaus 1 and others, have achieved the cure of rickets by minute amounts of irradiated ergosterol. Most of the studies on the cure of rickets in experimental animals are based upon the X-ray pictures, histological preparations of the bones, and blood serum analyses for calcium and phosphorus. Quantitative data are, however, supplied only by metabolism studies 2 , 3 , 4 and the analyses of the ash of the dry fat-free bones. 5 , 6 , 7 By use of technique described elsewhere 8 , 9 we desired to compare by the various analytical procedures the cure of standardized ricketic rats by cod liver oil and ergosterol.
Animals fed on Sherman Diet B, when 28 days old were placed on Steenbock and Black's high calcium-low phosphorus diet 2965 plus 10% lard. By analysis the diet contained 1.07% calcium and .178% phosphorus. The ratio of Ca/P was 6.0. They were kept on this regime for 21 days. Then the diet was altered by replacing 2% of the lard by cod liver oil, or irradiated ergosterol in olive oil.† Both were fed separately and not mixed with the diet. The amount of ergosterol represented .01 mg. per rat per day.
The animals were killed after 14 days on the curative diet. The autopsies showed intramuscular hemorrhages in the upper hind extremities of 2 of the rats which received ergosterol. The rats were studied as to (1) blood serum analyses, (2) histological examination of the bones, (3) bone analyses, and (4) metabolism of calcium and phosphorus.
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