ACTH AND CORTISONE IN DIFFUSE COLLAGEN DISEASE AND CHRONIC DERMATOSES

doi:10.1001/jama.1951.02920300001001

ACTH AND CORTISONE IN DIFFUSE COLLAGEN DISEASE AND CHRONIC DERMATOSES

DIFFERENTIAL THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS

Chicago
Clinical Associates in Medicine (Rush), University of Illinois College of Medicine, and Assistant Attending Physicians, the Presbyterian Hospital of the City of Chicago (Drs. Irons and Brown); Assistant in Pathology (Rush), University of Illinois College of Medicine, and Resident in Pathology, The Presbyterian Hospital of the City of Chicago (Dr. Ayer), and Professor of Medicine (Rush), University of Illinois College of Medicine, and Chairman, Rush Department of Medicine, The Presbyterian Hospital of the City of Chicago (Dr. Armstrong).

Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.

Excerpt

This is a report of our experience with 16 patients under therapy with pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisone for a number of the diffuse "collagen diseases" associated with severe, chronic dermatoses.

A considerable body of information has appeared in recent months dealing with the general aspects of pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisone therapy and with commonly encountered complications. Striking alterations in disease processes through the use of pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisone have been amply demonstrated by investigators working with Hench,¹ Thorn,² Baehr³ and others.⁴ The diseases affected include rheumatoid arthritis, acute rheumatic fever, disseminated lupus erythematosus and a number of the chronic dermatoses. The range indicates that cortisone and allied corticosteroids are not specific antirheumatics, but have a specificity for some factor common to all these diseases. The alteration in disease processes toward remission has, in general, been temporary or incomplete. However, in those instances

Footnotes

The laboratory investigation involved in this study was supported in large part by the Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute of Chicago.
This article has been abbreviated for publication in The Journal by omission of figures 5 to 12 and 14 to 16. These will appear in the authors' reprints.
Dr. John R. Mote of Armour and Company provided a supply of pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone for initiation of these studies in the calendar year 1949. The cortisone was obtained from Merck & Company, Rahway, N. J.
Dr. George M. Hass guided us in the interpretation of histological material; Dr. J. H. Mitchell was consulting dermatologist, Drs. Evan M. Barton, W. G. Hibbs, B. G. Nelson and S. G. Taylor III participated in the study of patients on their respective services; Dr. William B. Looney of the resident staff arranged the details of clinical management; Drs. F. E. Senear and J. Murray Riddell Jr., of the Research and Educational Hospital of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, participated in the study of patients on their service; Drs. Gordon B. Fauley, J. M. McKusky and Cleveland J. White referred patients to this hospital for investigation and therapy, and Miss Beulah Hunzicker, Chief Dietitian of the Presbyterian Hospital, assisted in the dietary management of the patients under study.