"Mesantoin" Poisoning With Aplastic Anemia and Recovery

Since 1945, Loscalzo 1 and Kozol 2 have enthusiastically advocated (3-methyl-5, 5-ethylphenylhydantion) in the treatment of grand mal epilepsy. Investigators in other clinics, Cloin 3 and Fetterman, 4 have confirmed their results, and it would seem that a rather harmless, wonderfully effective drug was now available for the control of grand mal attacks. Swinyard and Goodman 5 have noted that was less toxic than dilantin sodium (diphenylhydantoin sodium) in rats, and Kozol 2 reported the ingestion of 7.2 Gm. of ` mesantoin in a suicidal attempt without any serious after-effects. The toxic effects of diphenylhydantoin sodium, such as gingival hypertrophy, cutaneous rash and drowsiness, occurred at times following mesantoin, but were always less severe. The chemical formulas of the various anticonvulsant drugs are similar (fig. 1). Diphenylhydantoin and are both derivatives of hydantoin, but differ in that has an ethyl group in place of one of the