Abstract
The author has attempted to measure the reduced blood glutathione (GSH) of lepers by the Iwatake's Method, the result of which is as follow.
1) Amount of GSH of leprosy is smaller than that of healthy persons as shown in table I.
2) A comparison of GSH of each types of leprosy is as follows (II Table).
a) Lepra nodosa as compared with Lepra maculosa 20.3-18.8=1.6 σ= √292+3742=475 significant.
b) Lepra nodosa (female) as compared with Lepra maculosa (female) 19.5-16.1=3.4 σ= √3762+5902=700 significant. and with the others there is no significant variation.
3) There is no mutual relation between the amount of GSH and the conditions of the disease as to progressive or chronic, and the degree of severity or mildness, or as to the body weight, or the number of years since the leprosy has been clinically diagnosed.
4) Amount of GSH of the leprosy decreases in the period of " Erythema nodosum, " neuralgia and "Acuter Schub."
5) Amount of GSH is reduced when the patient has albuminuria or glucosuria, but the decrease of GSH has no value to prognosticate.
6) The change of the amount of GSH of lepers with complications is very variable, and there is no definite tendency of either decrease or increase of GSH (III Table).
7) The amount of GSH does not show any remarkable variation when measured immediately before and after a subcutaneous injection of chaulmoogra oil.
8) There is a tendency of either an increase of reduced blood glutathione of leprosy when infections are made continuously or decrease in those who are not being injected.
9) Therefore, it can be considered that, injection of chaulmoogra oil has certainly the best effects on the amount of the GSH of leprosy.
