Abstract: A rapid and reliable method is proposed for the quantitative determination of the individual free and acetylated polyamines, i.e. spermine, spermidine, putrescine, acetylspermine, N.sup.1 - and N.sup.8 -acetylspermidines and acetylputrescine in the body fluid of a patient suffering cancer or other diseases to facilitate diagnosis and therapeutic treatment. The method comprises subjecting the aqueous fluid to several enzymatic oxidative decomposition reactions of the polyamines in sequence or in combination by use of the 4 enzymes, i.e. polyamine oxidase AT-1, polyamine oxidase PC-3, putrescine oxidase and acetylputrescine oxidase, and determining, preferably photometrically, the amount of hydrogen peroxide formed as a byproduct in each of the reaction steps followed by setting up a set of simultaneous equations to give the respective amounts of the individual polyamines as a function of the amounts of the hydrogen peroxide formed in the reaction steps and solving the simultaneous equations.

Abstract: The invention discloses that the tissues of earthworms contain fibrinolytically or thrombolytically active ingredients which can be extracted and purified by a suitable sequence of extraction and purification procedures into the individual active ingredients including six novel proteases named F-O-HM-45, F-I-1-HM-54, F-I-2-HM-15, F-II-HM-64, F-III-1-HM-27 and F-III-2-HM-89. The chromatographic fractionation of the earthworm extract with an aqueous extractant gives five active fractions, the first four of which contain each one of the first mentioned four proteases and the last of which contains the last mentioned two proteases. The disclosure includes description of the suitable purification methods for the proteases as well as the physico-chemical identification data thereof. Various thrombolytic medicament forms prepared with the novel proteases as the effective ingredient are described together with the results of the clinical tests carried out by the oral administration of the novel proteases.

Abstract: A rapid and reliable method is proposed for the quantitative determination of the individual free and acetylated polyamines, i.e. spermine, spermidine, putrescine, acetylspermine, N.sup.1 - and N.sup.8 -acetylspermidines and acetylputrescine in the body fluid of a patient suffering cancer or other deseases to facilitate diagnosis and therapeutic treatment. The method comprises subjecting the aqueous fluid to several enzymatic oxidative decomposition reactions of the polyamines in sequence or in combination by use of the 4 enzymes, i.e. polyamine oxidase AT-1, polyamine oxidase PC-3, putrescine oxidase and acetylputrescine oxidase, and determining, preferably photometrically, the amount of hydrogen peroxide formed as a byproduct in each of the reaction steps followed by setting up a set of simultaneous equations to give the respective amounts of the individual polyamines as a function of the amounts of the hydrogen peroxide formed in the reaction steps and solving the simultaneous equations.