RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE METACHROMATIC REACTION AND FREE HIGHER FATTY ACIDS IN THE URINE

Abstract

Hashigami had studied higher fatty acids in the blood and urine from patients with urogenital diseases by means of Fujii's paper chromatographical method in an attempt to obtain clarification of the relationship between the results and the metachromatic reaction (abbreviated to “MR”) in the urine. The same investigator emphasized that the “MR” was always positive or pubiously positive when higher fatty acids were detected in the urine and that none of these were detected in the urine which presented the negative “MR”. He concluded that higher fatty acids can safely be regarded as “MR”-positive substances. He added, however, that it was impossible to determine by his own method whether the higher fatty acids that could be detected were of a free form or an ester form.
Higher fatty acids of a free form were lisewise studied by the present author in the urine from 109 cases of urosis and from 20 healthy persons who were chosen at random. Furthermore, higher fatty acids of an ester form were detected by the same method as used by Hashigami in order to seek the relationship between both forms and the “MR”. The fat loading test was performed on 2 patients and 1 healthy person, and the urine which was collected before and after the test was similarly examined with results. This paper presents a description of these rasults.
Experimental results:
1) No free higher fatty acids could be detected in the urine from 109 cases of urosis and from 20 healthy persons.
2) Higher fatty acids of an ester form could be detected in 8 of the 15 cases of tuberculous urogenital diseases, 2 of the 3 cases of urogenital tumor, 4 of the 8 cases of idiopathic nephrorrhagia and 1 case of cancerous cystitis,
3) No higher fatty acids of an ester form were to be demonstrated in the urine from healthy persons and from cases of other urogenital diseases.
4) The positive or doubtful positive “MR” was secured from cases, in whose urine higher fatty acids of an ester form were detected, but the negative “MR” took place in the urine from cases where none of them could be found,
5) As a result of the fat loading test, free higher fatty acids could be detected in none of all the cases. Untile 2 hours after the loading, patients with renal tuberculosis showed an increase in the amount of higher fatty acids of an ester form in the urine. However, such a tendency was not perceived in other cases. These cases alone presented the positive “MR”.
6) As Hashigami claimed, the present author concluded that these higher fatty acids might be regarded as substances in the urine which showed the positive or doubtful positive “MR”. All of these proved to be of an ester form.