Long-term test on rhesus monkeys for the PVNO therapy of anthracosilicosis.

In order to test the therapeutic efficiency of intravenous PVNO injections against anthracosilicotic changes, long-term inhalation tests were performed in which rhesus monkeys were exposed to coal-quartz dust. The exposures were given over a period of 48 months. PVNO treatment at a concentration of 300 or 600 mg/kg body weight began 8 months after the end of exposure. To determine the effect of PVNO injections, hydroxyproline examinations of the urine were made. After a total duration of 70 months the test was followed by an examination of respiration and circulation. In addition to histological check-ups the organ weights were determined. Under the influence of PVNO treatment neither a regression of anthracosilicotic changes in lungs and lung lymph nodes occurred nor was the progression of these changes retarded.