Abstract
In a preliminary communication 1 I stated elsewhere that an increase in certain protein constituents of the blood serum and of the cerebro-spinal fluid of patients suffering from active or latent syphilis or parasyphilitic affections is a constant occurrence. I wish to describe here briefly the technique of employing butyric acid for the detection of this increase of protein.
Cerebro-spinal fluid.—One or two parts 2 of spinal fluid 3 are mixed with five parts 4 of 10 per cent. butyric acid solution 5 and are heated over a flame to a brief boiling. One part 1 of normal solution of NaOH is then added quickly to the heated mixture and the whole is boiled once more for a few seconds. The presence of an increased content of protein in a spinal fluid is indicated by the appearance of a granular or flocculent precipitate which gradually settles under a clear supernatant liquid. The intensity of the reaction varies greatly according to the amount of the protein which a given specimen contains, but the granular appearance of the precipitate means a positive reaction for syphilis or parasyphilitic affections.
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