| Abstract: | The magnesium, calcium, potassium-hydrogen and cotarnine salts of phthalic acid have been tried out, on twenty patients each, over a period of six months by intravenous injections twice a week. Intravenous injections of magnesium, calcium and potassium-hydrogen phthalate appear to have no therapeutic effect in leprosy in doses of 20 cc. of a 1 per cent solution. Out of nineteen cases treated with intravenous injections of cotarnine phthalate, in 20 cc. doses, first of a 1 per cent solution and later a 2 per cent solution, twice a week, twelve showed marked improvement, four slight improvement and three no change. The inprovement in these cases occurred only during the first three months of treatment. The clinical improvement appears to be accompanied by a general increase in resistance as indicated by a drop of over 25 per cent in the sedimentation rate of twelve of the patients. It is suggested that the effect of the phthalate group in leprosy is dependent to some extent on the length of time the drug is retained in the body. (AU).
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