Studies on urinary peptides isolated from patients suffering from burns.

Dent (1948) first detected urinary peptides in cases of nephrosis using two-dimensional chromatography. Arneil and Wilson (1953) found a simi'ar" nephrotic" peptide spot on chromatograms obtained from the urines of patients suffering from oedema due to other causes, such as burns, scalds, or fractures. Barlow (1952) found that the blood of nephrotic patients showed a high antidiuretic activity. The patients with burns whose peptide excretion was investigated all showed an oliguria of 0.5 to 1 litre a day (Bull and England, 1954). It therefore seemed reasonable to investigate chemical and physical properties of such urinary peptides and compare them with a material of high antidiuretic activity isolated from the posterior pituitary gland.