It is well known that Streptomycin (STM) has a remarkable therapeutic effect on tuberculosis. However, as regard to the mechanism of its action, no sufficient explanation has ever been given, although researches have been made by experiments both in vitro and in vivo.
That STM has a powerful action to prompt the cure of tuberculosis is due not only to the inhibition of the growth of tuberculous bacilli, but also we have clinically established the fact that STM causes a change in the function of the body, directly influencing on the autonomic nervous functions.
An attempt was made, therefore, to prove this fact experimentally on rabbits and guinea pigs.
The results of experiments showed that by Magnus' method a small quantity of STM was found to accelerate the movement of intestinal tracts, while it had an influence to lower the blood pressure of the rabbit and this influence was inhibited, up to a certain extent, by atropin.
As STM promotes the action of acetylcholine and inhibits the action of epinephrine, it is presumed that STM has a cholinergic action.
STM also has an inhibiting effect upon cholinesterase in the blood serum and further it was shown in experiments on electrical stimulation of the autonomic nerve center that STM promotes the action of para-sympathicus.
From these facts, it is ascertained that STM acts on the parasympathetic nervous system.
It is generally believed that in an early stage or in an out-burst stage of tuberculosis, the function of autonomic nervous system in patients is accelerated on the side of sympathetic nervous system. In these stages, therefore, the administration of such chemotherapeutics as STM which acts to accelerate the function of para-sympathicus leads to recover the autonomic nervous function to normal stage.
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