CHEMOTHERAPY IN EXPERIMENTAL TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

Seventy-nine compounds comprising 22 p-aminobenzene derivatives, 10 o-aminobenzene derivatives, 11 m-aminobenzene derivatives, 8 p-N-ethyl-aminobenzene derivatives, 10 isomeric hydroxychloroanilines, 3 diaminodiphenylsulphones and 15 miscellaneous agents, have been compared for their effects upon the course of experimental tuberculosis in guinea pigs inoculated intraperitoneally with virulent human tubercle bacillus (Strain H 37 R. V.). Sixty-five of these compounds gave entirely negative results. On the other hand, 14 of the agents tested, namely, p-aminophenol, p-ethylaniline, p-chloroaniline, p-aminophenyl hexyl ether, ethyl-p-aminobenzoate, 2,4-dichloroaniline, p-N-ethylaminophenol, 3-chloro-4-hydroxyaniline, 2-chloro-4-hydroxyaniline, 2-chloro-5-hydroxyaniline, 2-hydroxy-3-chloroaniline, promin, rodilone, and sulphathiazole led, in a number of different experiments, to varying degrees of prolongation of the survival time of some of the animals treated with them, in comparison with both untreated controls and animals treated with other agents. The average survival times of all the animals treated with these agents were also prolonged in several different series of experiments in which each of these agents was tested. None of the latter agents led to a curative effect and all animals both treated and untreated, however long they survived, showed at autopsy gross evidence of tuberculosis involving spleen, liver, lungs, and glands. Finally, it must be emphasized that none of these compounds offer any promise as a cure for tuberculosis, but the results described would suggest that further investigation of chemical agents related to these substances might be worthwhile.