Tuberculous Bacillemia and Dementia Praecox

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Abstract
Samples of blood from patients with mental and physical diseases and from control subjects were divided into 6 equal 7-cc. portions. 3 of these were sent to Loewen-stein and 3 examined by the authors according to Loewen-stein''s method. Each portion was numbered serially and the diagnosis withheld until the final laboratory report was made. According to Loewenstein''s findings among 54 controls 5 positive macroscopic cultures of M. tuberculosis were reported. These came from healthy young adults in whom there had been no demonstrable tuberculous infection. No macroscopic cultures of Mycobactenum tuberculosis occurred in 25 cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis or 24 cases of eye infection (2 of which were diagnosed tuberculous retinitis). 27 positives were reported in 96 cases of dementia praecox and 7 positives in 19 miscellaneous psychoses and neuroses. These contradict Loewenstein''s previous claims of: (a) a high incidence of positive blood cultures of M. tuberculosis in febrile pulmonary tuberculosis and (b) in dementia praecox; and (c) a complete absence of positive findings in controls. In the authors'' laboratory by rigidly following Loewenstein''s technic on 375 blood samples from the same patients they were unable in any instance to culture M. tuberculosis. Of 8 spinal fluid specimens from suspected cases of tuberculous meningitis 6 yielded positive cultures of M. tuberculosis on Loewenstein medium in 16, 23, 27, 45, 52 and 125 days respectively.

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