Abstract
Oriel and Barber 1 recently reported the recovery of a proteose from the urine excreted in anaphylactic and allergic conditions which gave positive intradermal reactions and which gave encouraging results when used for desensitization.
We have studied the proteose reactions in 34 cases from the medical wards of the Colorado General Hospital. The proteose was prepared according to the method of Oriel and Barber. We have found that no constant relationship can be shown to exist between the quantity of proteose obtained from the urine and the responsiveness to it on the part of the patient. A large quantity may give a negative reaction when tested intradermally; on the other hand, a small precipitate may give a marked reaction when similarly tested.
Nine cases of bronchial asthma were studied and these gave the most satisfactory results. Three of the patients were studied when asymptomatic and the intradermal tests were negative. Later 2 of these patients returned to the hospital with acute asthmatic paroxysms. Proteose was again prepared and positive skin tests were obtained. Two out of 4 cases reacted negatively to the usual routine sensitization tests, but reacted positively to their respective proteose preparations. Subcutaneous injections induced focal reactions in 4 instances. Desensitization with the proteose apparently resulted in improvement in 6 out of the 9 cases of asthma studied.
Because of the recent interest in arthritis from the allergic standpoint, the proteose sensitivity was investigated in various arthritic and allied conditions. Five patients with acute arthritis were studied. In 3 instances positive intradermal tests were obtained, but the therapeutic results were questionable. A positive test was obtained in one patient with acute subdeltoid bursitis. The initial subcutaneous therapeutic injection produced a marked focal reaction which was followed by improvement.
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