On a simple method of diagnosing pregnancy,based upon the presence of specific enzymes in the urine

It has been clearly demonstrated by Abderhalden and the host of workers following in his footsteps, that protective enzymes are developed in the body as a result of the presence of a foreign protein in the blood stream, whether that protein be derived from placental tissue, or carcinoma in the body, or be introduced from without for experimental purposes.

These enzymes, proteolytic in nature, have been found in the serum: their function is to digest the foreign protein and split it into amino-acids, in which form it may properly circulate in the blood stream, and be absorbed by the cells.

While working with Dr. A. A. Bruère at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, on a method of performing the Abderhalden Cancer test without the use of dialyzing thimbles, it was observed that a serum which gave a strongly positive test after incubation for 20 hours, was negative on the following day. The suggestion was made that certain enzymes had dialyzed out, causing the further splitting of peptone and amino-acids into simpler bodies which would not give the Ninhydrin reaction. Theoretically one might now expect that an enzyme which is dialyzable through a parchment thimble would also pass through the kidney and be found in the urine.

It was at this stage that Professor Adami called my attention to Kiutsi's work on urine diagnosis 1 in which this passage of specific enzymes through the kidney is made the basis of a widespread method for the diagnosis of disease.

Kiutsi's method is as follows:

“By filtering urin of a pregnant through animal charcoal, the urin is clarified and protein and peptone taken off, i. e., let it be filtered through animal charcoal several times until Biuret reaction is no longer positive.