USSR WORK ON LYSOZYME

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160033-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2011
• Sequence Number: 33
• Publication Date: January 11, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160033-6
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160033-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160033-6
Zhurnal Mikrobiologii, Epidemiologii i Immunobiologii, A. A. Yefremenko
NO b, MOSCOW,
Jun 1953, PP a3-87
Lysozyme was discovered ?,y P. IQ. Lashchenkov in 1909, i. e., 13 years
before .it was described by Fleming. Many foreign investigators, including Fleming
himself, who referred to Lashchenkov as one of his precursors, have recognized
this fact,.
Research on lysozyme has been extended considerably in the USSR during
the past 20 years.. USSR scientists have carried out many-sided studies on the
nature and properties of ly~nzVmE, At Z. V. Yermol'yeva's laboratory, perfected
methods of obtaining lysoz~,u~-pr~parations nave been developed. The presence
of lysozyme in many liquids and tissues of the body was established. It was
also dstablished that lysozyme is contained in many plants, e. g., radish, horse-
radish, and cabbage.
At Yermol'yeva's initiative, USSR clinical investigators were the first
to apply lysozyme preparations in medical practice. There has been extensive
work on the use of lysozyme for *.he treatment of infectious 3i~eases in which
the therapeutic agent can be made to act directly en the causative factor of
the disease,
In 1934, Yermol'yeva, Buyanovsknya, and Mayranovskiy indicated that
application of lysozyme yielded good results in the treatment of progressive
ulceration of the cornea ~ulcus serpens corneae.
The effectiveness of lysozyme has been widely investigated in oto-
laryngological, ophthalmolegical, and stomatological practice. The investigators
working with lysozyme have arrived nt the conclusions that "lysozyme in the
majority of cases exerts a favorable effect" (Gutkin, 1935), that "it is a
valuable therapeutic agent" (Varshavskaya), and that "lysozyme is hsrmless and
its application in medical practice is indicated" (Petrov, 1952)?
Lysozyme was npplied with equal success in surgical practice. The treat-
ment of phlegmona, zbscesses, purulent pleurites, fistulas, and other condi-
tions with lysozyme accelerated the elimination oi' pus an3 stimulated granu-
lation (Fonomareva, 1940).
t?Sany investigators heve used lysozyme in pediatric practice for the
treatment of children's diarrheas. They noted that the inciderc~ of diseases
of this type among children was lowered by the use of lysozyme (Voronova, 1941).
Successful application of lysozyrse in various dermatoses hss been reported
by Kharif (1)30). ,
Lysozyme has also been tested in veterinary practice. Nikol.'skiy (1939),
who had used this bactericidal agent to treat purulent infected wounds and
coli-bacillosls of young calves, wrote that "recovery was rapid and lasting,
and recurrences were not observed."
Lysozyme has also been found useful on farms. For ins~ance, it has been
used to increase the general resistance of chicks (Vyshipan, 1938)?
As has already bee^ noted, the priority in the application of lysozyme for
P4'P ry(iRV nPPdE of *_h=_ medical practice belongs to the USSR. Data of USSR
investi~ze.tors on this subject are quoted by msny foreign scientists. Kaflish
Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160033-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160033-6
(1948), mentions the highly favorable results obtained in the USSR in the prac-
tical appl_cation of lysozyme at :he -linic for the therapy of a number of
diseases.
During recent yeera, because some birds (ducks and geese) are resistant
to infection with tuberculosis, USSR investigators, at the initiativc? of
Yermol~yeva, have attempted to isolate from the organs and tissues of these
birds, sew substances active with respect to pathogenic microorganisms. Work
along these lines is in accordance with the tendency of USSR medicine to ?~se
for therapeutic purposes factors and mechanisms which are typical of the organism
~n its normal physiological state. Subsequently to the work mentioned above,
the organs of animals which are still less susceptible tc tuberculosis infection
were subjected to investigation. Aa a result of investigations of this type,
drugs were obtained (e.g., ekmolin) which proved to be effective wish respect
to the causative factors of bacterial infections (i.e., typhoid, paratyphoids
A and B, Grigor~yev-Shiga dysentery, Flexner dysentery, diphtheria, etc.), and
of virus infections (e, g., influenza of the A type).
Use of ekmolin for the prophylaxis of influenza (Lukashevich and Zak)
resulted in lowering the incidence of influenza by a factor on 3.5 in those
treated as compared with persons who were not treated. Ekmolin also proved
to be a valuable therapeutic agent,
Yermol~yeva and other USSR investigators deserve credit for originally
introducing into medical practice bactericidal substances isolated from the
animal organism (lysczyme, ekmolin, etc.)-
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160033-6