Studies on Bayer 205 (Germanin) and Antrypol

BAYER 205 and Antrypol, besides having very high curative effects in trypano- somiasis, have been shown to possess marked prophylactic or preventive properties as far as this disease is concerned. Although the in vivo trypanocidal action of these drugs has not yet been fully explained, it seems probable that their prolonged prophylactic action is due to the fact that they are retained in the blood and probably in the tissues for some considerable time after injection. It seems desirable, therefore, that more information should be obtained about the "metabolism" of these drugs in the body. At a conference on Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis (Animal and Human) Research held at Entebbe a few years ago [Report, 1934] the view was expressed "that it was important that the question of the rapidity of excretion of Bayer 205 from the body should be investigated " and "it was recommended that the Medical Research Council should be approached with a request to work on this problem". The Medical Research Council having taken up the matter accordingly, it was at their request that the experiments described in this paper were made.