H3 Book Index:: Chapters 1-29
The hospital division of the Institute has slowly expanded as it became apparent that a number of diseases which required hospitalization could also be treated through long-term procaine injections. As a matter of fact, increasing numbers of children are brought to the Institute's hospital or to its out-patient clinic for the treatment of such disorders as skin diseases, osteoporosis (enlargement of bone marrow), bronchial asthma and rheumatism.
There are also rare cases of alopecia (or baldness) and vitiligo (the loss of pigmentation in skin or hair, making it appear white, which can occur in children and young adults as well as people of more advanced age). The great majority of the patients being treated with procaine today are out-patients. They are under constant observation, but of course cannot be controlled as carefully as the inmates.
The treatments for patients of the Institute, how
ever, have become standardized.
The GH3 procaine used has been modified over the
years. While it originally had a pH (hydrogen exponent) between 4.2 and 5, this has now been reduced: to 3.3-3.5 in the Rumanian preparation called Gerovital or "H3," produced according to Prof. Aslan's formula. (A substance at a pH of 7 is neutral-neither acid nor alkaline, but below 7 it becomes acid.) Experiments proved that if the pH of GH3 procaine is augmented, its anesthetic properties are increased; conversely, if the pH is reduced, it loses the anesthetic properties, while the action on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system is preserved or even increased. The lowered pH may have something to do with the fact that, in Bucharest, side effects have almost never been encountered, and that allergic sensitivity to the stabilized substance is almost nonexistent.
Intramuscular injections of procaine are the rule in this treatment, but there are a few exceptions. In cases of asthma, gastric or duodenal ulcers, and vascular spasms, intravenous injections are considered more effective, and in arteritis as well as certain arthropathies, . intra-arterial ones are indicated. The rhythm of injection is also slightly changed: in vascular spasms, 5 cc is given twice daily; in ulcers, 5 cc is given once daily at a very slow rate. The usual series of twelve injections with a rest period of seven to ten days is constantly maintained, however.
The 5 cc dose of procaine is reduced only where body weight of the patient is abnormally low; in these cases 3 or 4 cc are recommended. Children, as a rule tolerate the 5 cc dose well. In the prophylactic treatment of old age, dealing with people between 45 and 60, the cycle of twelve injections per month is observed, but one or two series per year suffice, whereas in the geriatric clinic, procaine is given as a maintenance dose. The prophylactic treatment, as mentioned will have to be continued for several more years before significant statistical data can be obtained.
As further proof of the fact that one does not develop a tolerance to procaine, it is important to note that even among the survivors of the original group which Prof. AsIan has worked with and treated for more than eight years (they received more than 1,000 injections), higher doses are not needed in order to achieve the desired effects. Nor has a sensibilization for procaine been noticed.
There is only one positive contraindication of the
procaine therapy (with the exception of the allergy, of course), and this is the simultaneous administration of sulfa drugs. Here, procaine acts as an inhibitor. If
plain procaine is used for the treatment, the patient should, as a precautionary measure, rest for about half an hour after the intramuscular injection. Longer rest
periods are indicated in cases of intravenous injections. Procaine has a dilating effect on the blood vessels, causing a lowered blood pressure, which in turn can produce untoward side effects. When a buffered form of procaine is used, however, there is no need for rest after the intramuscular injection.
Other GH3 procaine preparations of slightly different compositions have been developed in other countries and their number is constantly on the increase since the oral procaine therapy has been introduced. But for all these pharmaceutical products, produced in many countries, the therapy prescribed follows closely the
plan developed by AsIan although changes had to be made once procaine capsules and dragees were introduced, making the application much easier since it was then no longer necessary to visit a doctor thrice a week.
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H3 Book Index:: Chapters 1-29
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