Our department had already reported that the metachromatic reaction in urine (referred to as “MR” hereafter) which was originated by Nagata and Yamamoto in 1953 proved positive specifically in tuberculous patients. The present author previously reported a study of the “MR” which was performed on healthy subjects and patients with Pulmonary tuberculosis. At that time he stated that the “MR” test could be applied to prognosis since patients with pulmonary tuberculosis presented the positive “MR” at a high rate and since the severer the intensity of the disease is, the more positive the “MR” is. He added that the healthy subjects presented the positive “MR” at a low rate. For the diagnosis and prognosis of tuberculous patients, Maruyama's carbol reaction (referred to as “Maruyama's reaction” hereafter) and the cadmium reaction in serum (referred to as “cadmium reaction” hereafter) were performed on 58 healthy subjects and 139 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis who were nospitalized for medical attention. At the same time the “MR” was used on them for comparative study of these three reactions. The “MR”, Maruyama's reaction and cadmium reaction proved positive in 6 (10.3%), 5 (8.6%) and 26 (44.8%) out of the 58 healthy subjects, respectively. The X² test of these results revealed that the “MR” and Maruyama's reaction made more significant differences than the cadmium reaction. Out of the 139 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, 74 (53.2%), 62 (44.6%) and 94 (67.6%) presented the positive “MR”, positive Maruyama's reaction and the positive cadmium reaction, respectively. As a result of the X² test, it could be demonstrated that the “MR” and Maruyama's reaction made more significant differences than the cadmium reaction. Regarding the relationship between the intensity of pulmonary tuberculosis and these three reactions, the more is the intensity, the higher is the positive rate; the cadmium reaction has nothing to do with the intensity of the disease. From a viewpoint of inductive statistics, the correlationship existed only between the “MR” and Maruyama's reaction. From the foregoing experimental results it was concluded that the “MR” together with Maruyama's reaction could be utilized for diagnosis and prognosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.

View full abstract

Simple roentgen films of the kidney, urinary tract and urinary bladder of 191 out-patients were chosen at random from those of the out-patients who have visited our hospital in the recent one year. The distribution of intestinal gas was classified into 12 categories according to its region.
The following drugs, together with pretreatmen, with pretreatment, were given to 8 hospitalized cases including patients with nephrolithiasis prior to roentgenography. Roentgenographys before and after administration of the drugs were compared in order to observe an increase or a decrease of intestinal gas. The drugs employed were homosulfamine, sulfathiazole, sulfaguanidine, sulfamethylthiazole, streptomycin, carbo animalis and restamine. The administration of the drugs were started 24 hours before roentgennography. Streptomycin was given intramuscularly to the patients by injection and other drugs were administered orally in divided doses. Pretreatment consisted of administering 30g. of ricin the previous night and performing high pressure enema the next day to remove the intestinal content as much as possible. Administration of homosulfamine and streptomycin brought about a remarkable decrease of gas in this order. On the contrary, an extraordinary increase of gas was caused by restamine. Almost no effect of the other drugs upon intestinal gas was noticed.

View full abstract

We discussed the problem on intestinal gas in Part I. At that time we explained that this problem was complicated, but that it would be possible to remove intestinal gas by some method to such an extent as not to hinder roentgen diagnosis. Though intestinal gas can be classified into swallowed air and gas produced by intestinal flora, it is possible to remove intestinal gas by effectuating nonactivation of the intestinal flora.
Faces from the 8 patients who were described in Part I were divided into two parts. One part was used as a source of isolation and 8 strains of Escherichia coli were prepared by isolation and culture according to the conventional technique. Regarding the other part, 5g. of it was dissolved in 5cc of sterilized physiological salt solution and 8 kinds of mucus feces solutions were prepared. Part II dealt with the results of the below-mentioned examinations.
As basal media a 1% glucose-peptone solution and a 1% glucose-bouillon were prepared using the Smith fermentation tube. The definite amounts of the aseptically-treated 7 drugs mentioned in Part I were suspended in these basal media and two sets of media consisting of 7 each were thus prepared. The 8 strains of colon bacillus and definite quantities of the smeary feces solution were implanted into each of these media, and determination was made of the amounts of gas produced for 24 hours. As a control the basal media were used with those to which the drugs were added. Irrespective of the colon bacillus and smeary solution, homosulfamine and streptomycin inhibited gas production in this order. In contrast to this, restamine gave riso to extraordinarily increased gas production.

View full abstract

The collagen content in the prostatic tissues surgically removed from 54 patients with prostatic hypertrophy and prostatic carcinoma was measured by the Ishida's method, the modification of the Neuman and Logan's method. The collagen content was also measured in 7 normal cases for control.
The results obtained were compared with the histological picture and summerized as follows:
1) The average value of the collagen content in normal prostatic tissue was 6.3 per cent.
2) The average value of the collagen content in prostatic hypertrophy was 9.8 per cent, higher than normal value.
The average value of the collagen content in the fibroglandular type and the mixed type which contains abundant stroma was 10.4 per cent and 10.9 per cent respectively, both somewhat higher than in the glandular type, 8.6 per cent.
3) The average value of the collagen content in prostatic tissue which showed histologically microfollicular hyperplasia was 9.8 per cent, same value as in general cases of hypertrophy.
4) The average value of the collagen content in occult carcinoma was 11.9 per cent, practically as high as in prostatic carcinoma.
5) The average value of the collagen content in prostatic carcinoma was as high as 12.0 per cent, about twice as normal value. The average value of collagen content in adenocarcinoma was 11.3 per cent, while that of scirrhus was 13.3 per cent.
6) From the view point of collagen content, the prostatic carcinoma is different from the prostatic hypertrophy and the occult carcinoma may be considered to be identical with the clinical prostatic carcinoma, while the microfollicular hyperplasia may be one type of the prostatic hypertrophy.

View full abstract