Cerium

Cerium, chemical element, symbol Ce, belongs to the group of rare earths, occupying the 58th place in the periodic system; at. wt. 140.3. The group of rare earths is usually obtained as a by-product when extracting thorium from cerite, monazite, and other minerals. In the USSR, minerals containing these elements are found in Transbaikalia, in the Irkutsk region, in the gold-bearing placers of the southern Urals and Kazakhstan. In technology, salts of Ce are used in pyrophoric alloys (flints for lighters), as a catalyst, in photography, etc. The pharmacodynamics of cerium salts and salts of its group have not been thoroughly studied: salts of Ce agglutinate bacteria and precipitate protein in a concentration of 1:5,000-10,000; they act as an astringent and antiseptic. Salts of Ce reduce the excitability of the vomiting center and the autonomic nervous system; salts of Ce were supposedly tested with success in tuberculosis of internal organs. Preparations of cerium. Cerium nitrate-0.05-0.12; several times a day in dyspepsia, vomiting, as a tonic and sedative; Cerium oxalate-0.05-0.1 two to three times a day in vomiting, catarrh of the stomach, vomiting and cough of pregnant women, sea sickness. Cerium valerate-in the same dose in nervous and tuberculosis patients. Of the patented preparations of Ce, it is necessary to note: 1) Introcid-a compound of Ce with iodine in an isotonic solution-in the treatment of cancerous tumors, puerperal fever, inflammation of the ovaries, etc.; 2) Geodyl-a solution of organic (?) salts of Ce-as a sedative in doses of 0.05-0.1 in a 1-2% solution; 3) Zergalin-basic compound of cerium earths with gallic acid; used in eczema and itching in the form of a powder.