Studies on leukemia. I. Uric acid excretion.

IT HAS BEEN KNOWN siunce 1870,t amid has siunce heems comnfirmnned miuamny tinses29 that the excretioun of uric acid nsay he increased imn sonic pat ients with leuukensia. This has not, horvever, heems ann euntirely consistennt fimndimigt4 8 am-id the possible reasouns for the differeusces imn uric acid excretiomn ansomug patients with leukemia have uot beets imnvestigated. Whether the uric acid excretioum (-orrelates with the nuorphobogic type of leukemusia, the degree of elevation of the leukocyte (-oumst, or the degree of euibargennemmt of the spleets or other tissues has tnot beets a suml)ject of inquiry. Moreover, with nioderns chemusotherapeutic ageunts it is msow possible to niodify the heukocyte (‘ouunt drastically over a (-omusparatively short period of tinse. Although it is recogmsized that remsah failumre, as the result of the depositioms of u-uric acid crystals its the uriuary tract msray a(-comnupamsy such therapy,’#{176}’ tu there have beets mno detailed studies ots the excretiomi of uri(acid fohlowimsg the adnsimiistratiois of these ageusts. Simmee umri(acid is ats em-id product of puritse nset-ai)ohisnr its mnuamsamsd is to sonic extetst a miseasure of the rate of degradatioms of usucheic acids, a study of uumic acid excretiomn its leukenusia might he expected to give sonic imsfornsatiomn (-ouscertiimng the over-all rate of turunover of mnucbeoproteimns its the leukocytes.t2 The puurpose of this paper is to present the results of studies ous tine uritsary exeretious of uuric acid in 38 patietsts with various types of heuskemusia. The imufluetsee of differemut chensotherapeutic agemits ots the exeretioun of ulri(aei(1 has heemn iunvestigat.ed. The exeretioms of two precursors of uric acid, xaunthine amid guuauuimie, has also i)eets stu(lied imn a snuahher grouup of patiemnts.