Abstract
The possible rôle of allergy in the mechanism underlying certain neurological conditions offers an interesting field of investigation. Following the recent demonstration by David and Beatrice Seegal of local organ hypersensitivity in the anterior chamber of the rabbit eye, one of us (L.M.D.) in collaboration with the Seegals produced the same phenomenon in the brain of rabbits. However, the sterile inflammation was observed only after making a second injection directly into the brain, and not, as in the case of the eye, by a simple intravenous injection. It occurred to us that this difference might be accounted for by the fact that in the eye there was more prolonged and more intimate contact of antigen with local tissue in a confined space than in the brain. How to effect this in the brain was our immediate problem.
The following procedure was carried out, using dogs as experimental animals:
Under local anesthesia a trephine hole was made and somewhat enlarged by rongeurs over the left motor area. The dura was then opened, and into a cavity in the brain tissue there was inserted a 0.5 cm. cube containing normal horse serum to which enough agar was added to make a jelly (0.6%). The wound was then closed. Immediately after the operation each dog was given from 1.5 to 5 cc. normal horse serum intravenously.
The brain in each case had been purposely injured on the left side so that immediately after operation and continuing for a few days to a week or 10 days the dogs showed a varying amount of right-sided hemiplegia. In every animal the weakness on the right side had disappeared before the next step in the experiment.
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