RECENTLY Peters,1 in England, and Waters and Stock,2 in the United States, have presented information concerning an effective antiarsenical agent, BAL (2, 3-dimercaptopropanol), which was discovered and developed during the war years. It has been shown not only to be an effective therapeutic agent against arsenical war agents but also to be of value in the treatment of the various types of arsenical poisonings encountered in civilian practice.
It is the purpose of this review to give a brief summary of the development of BAL for ocular therapeutic use.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
Among the early forms of BAL tested for therapeutic effect in the eye in this country were NDR 133-J, NDR 133-N, NDR 133-Q-Z, NDR 133-5, NDR 133-11 and NDR 133-12.3 These were all 2, 3-dimercaptopropanol of varying degrees of purity and prepared by different modifications in the chemical process. Composites of later preparations of