Semiquantitative estimates of circulating endotoxin were performed by the limulus test in patients suffering from typhoid fever and other salmonelloses. The test was positive in a large number of cases. However, no clearcut correlation was found between existence of endotoxemia, as such, and pyrexia. A correlation with recent bacteremia was found for highest levels of endotoxin activity. In minor salmonelloses a striking prevalence of positive cases was observed in the age group under one year. These findings were discussed in relation to the diagnostic and pathogenetic facets of the problem.
The reversibility of the rheumatoid process observed during hepatitis and jaundice(1) has been generally explained in terms of increased corticosteroidal activity, due either to retention of bile acids, which contain chemical nuclei of a steroidal nature similar to those of adrenal cortical hormones (2), or to the ability of bilirubin to displace cortico steroids from sites of protein binding (3). Little attention has been given to the possibility that different mechanisms are involved in the inhibition of inflammation which takes place during jaundice.Our interest in this problem was stimulated on reading that in rats ligature of bile duct brings about an inhibition of inflammatory lesions produced by Freund's adjuvant (4). This result led us to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of jaundice by means of an experimental scheme analogous to that generally employed to evaluate antirheumatic drugs.
METHODSExperiments were conducted on Long-Evans rats, weighing 120-180 g and kept at 22-23°C. Animals of both sexes were used, but results have been pooled since no signi ficant difference was observed between male and female animals.Surgical procedures, performed under ether anesthesia, were followed by intraperi toneal injection of 20,000 I.U. of Na penicillin for animal. Bile duct ligature was carried out through an incision in the ventral midline. By raising and extending the duodenal ansa, the mesentery was disclosed and the bile duct located; then a double ligature was made. Adrenalectomy was performed through an incision of the skin in the dorsal midline. Postoperatively, rats were given drinking water containing 0.9% NaCl.The same surgical procedures were performed in sham operated rats, without ligating the bile duct or removing the adrenals.Inflammatory responses were studied by injecting carrageenin (0.05 ml of 1% sus pension) into the plantar surface of the rat's hind paw (5). The foot volume was measured according to Lence (6). The cotton pellet induced granuloma was studied according to Meier et al. (7). At the end of experiments animals were autopsied and the weight of
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