THE PROBLEM OF AN ANTIDIURETIC SUBSTANCE IN THE BLOOD OF PATIENTS WITH ECLAMPSIA AND OTHER HYPERTENSIVE DISEASES WITH OBSERVATIONS ON SPINAL FLUID.

In 1931 Anselmino and Hoffmann (1) reported that they found in the ultrafiltrates of blood from 24 cases of " nephritic-eclamptic " patients a substance which they identified as the pressor-antidiuretic secretion of the posterior lobe of the hypophysis. Their patients had systolic blood pressures above 180 mm. Hg and were edematous. When 10 cc. of the blood ultrafiltrate from these patients were injected subcutaneously into rabbits, it inhibited water diuresis. When injected intravenously into rabbits it raised the blood pressure. The active substance was destroyed by alkali. They prepared their blood ultrafiltrates by adding 1 cc. of normal acetic acid to each 20 cc. of citrated plasma. The mixture was then filtered through an aceto-collodion filter until two-thirds of the original volume had passed through. Immediately before injection into rabbits, the ultrafiltrate was neutralized with NaOH. The acetic acid was added to bring the plasma to a pH of about 4.0. This pH was stated to be the optimum one for separation of the hormone from plasma proteins. Since we began our work, de WVesselow and Griffiths (2), Byrom and Wilson (3), Theobald (4), and Hurwitz and Bullock (5) have reported adversely on the findings of Anselmino and Hoffmann. Theobald devotes much of his excellent paper to a review and criticism of the works of Anselmino and Hoffmann. In this report one may find a thorough discussion of the technical stages and their interpretations. In the present work an attempt was made to demonstrate only the antidiuretic hormone of the posterior lobe of the hypophysis.