CORTICOTROPIN AND CORTISONE IN ACUTE DISSEMINATED LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS

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Abstract
This report is concerned with the results of a prolonged study of a group of 18 patients (12 female and 6 male) with acute disseminated lupus erythematosus treated with corticotropin (ACTH) and cortisone and followed for 3 to 20 months thereafter. In several previous papers1 we have reported on the prompt response of the fever, rash, arthritis, pleuritis, and pericarditis to treatment with these agents, in contrast to the persistence of L. E. cells and renal damage.1c,d Since these earlier reports, further studies have provided an opportunity to evaluate the hazards of therapy in patients with varying degrees of organ involvement and have served to clarify those clinical features that are of prognostic importance. The major clinical manifestations present in this group are listed in table 1. The ratio of females to males was 2:1, the incidence in males being much greater2 than has been previously