The total concentration of protein suifhydryl (SH) groups was determined in the sera of 15 patients with untreated malignant lymphoma (4 patients with Hodgkin's disease and 11 with non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma) using 5,5'-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB). Serum SH total concentration in all patients was markedly depressed and significantly lower than that observed in the sera of healty controls matched for sex and age.

Immunological investigations in 4 multiple myelomas with bone lesions, in 1 extraosseus myeloma, and in 1 reticulum-cell sarcoma with areas of plasma cellular transformation are described. Serum proteins were studied with immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis and sedimentation constant. All identified serum paraproteins in the myeloma patients appeared to be of the IgG type, but with different electrophoretic mobility. Three cases were classified as «slow», one as «fast» and one as «intermediate» type. In the patient with reticulum-cell sarcoma alterations of the antigenic properties of the IgG immunoglobulins were present and they were compatible with the presence of a paraprotein. The immunoelectrophoretic pattern as well as the quantitative determination with immunoplates of the immunoglobulins yielded results almost directly proportional to the percentage of plasmacells detected through bone marrow aspiration and to the extent of the disease.

Normal, preleukemic and leukemic thymuses of CTM, C3HL CS7BL and S W R mice were examined for their chromosome constitution. In untreated infant and young adult animals deviation from diploidy was rare. During and shortly after a brief course of a highly leukemogenic urethan treatment, little variation in chromosome number was found but diploid metaphases had many diferent chromosome aberrations which became rare a week after completion of treatment. No deviation from normal was observed in thymuses examined 5 and I1 weeks after urethan. The total analysis of 77 thymic lymphosarcornas showed a 40-41 bimodal distribution, although 7 cases had 80% or more diploid metaphases and 3 had 80% or more metaphases with 41 chromosomes. The additional chromosome was always identical or similar to those of the smallest pair.

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Chromosomes studies were performed in a lymph node of a patient with non specific cervical adenopathy. Thirty-two percent of the chromosome patterns were found to be aneuploid; 12 percent of metaphases had 45 chromosomes and 18 percent had 47 chromosomes. Chromosomes alterations were observed also in diploid metaphases. The chromosome pattern in the peripheral blood was found to be constantly euploid. The hypothesis of a viral infection as a cause of the observed chromosome abnormalities is postulated.