Removal of bromine from the blood in cases of mental disorder.

ZONDEK AND BIER [1932; 1933] have pointed out that in certain cases of mental disorder (particularly of the manic-depressive type) the blood-bromine is usually considerably lower than normal. Unfortunately they used a method of bromine estimation which is subject to severe criticism and hence, although their conclusions may be correct, the work requires repetition with a sound method of bromine estimation. Work in this laboratory', using Yates's method of bromine estimation [1933], has made it clear that the bromine of blood varies very greatly among cases of mental disorder, but that variation occurs also among normal subjects, particularly women (compare also Kuranami [1932] and Guillaumin and Merejkowsky [1933]). The authors have made an attempt, in the work about to be described, to analyse some of the factors which may contribute to the variations in bloodbromine. It seemed possible that the rates at which tissues remove bromine from blood may vary from patient to patient. Small amounts of bromine are normally taken in the food [Damiens and Blaignan, 1932]), but this is subject to such wide fluctuation that quantitative investigation is difficult. We have therefore given patients and normal subjects, intravenously and orally, known quantities of bromide and followed the rates at which bromine disappeared from the blood after reaching its maximum value.