USE AND ABUSE OF CORTISONE AND CORTICOTROPIN (ACTH) IN DERMATOLOGY

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Abstract
Four and a half years have elapsed since we first treated patients who had lupus erythematosus and psoriasis with cortisone, and in four previous reports1 our colleagues and one of us (P. A. O'L.) have recorded our experiences with and impressions of the value of cortisone and corticotropin (ACTH) in the treatment of various dermatological conditions. From the beginning, it was apparent that cortisone did not cure patients with skin diseases, although in some cases the symptoms were minimized and in other cases of fatal diseases the life expectancy may have been extended. At the present time, cortisone and corticotropin are used extensively and sometimes indiscriminately in the treatment of cutaneous diseases of all types, and patients with dermatoses that run a short and self-limited course and those with fatal skin diseases now receive these drugs uniformly. It is not a new experience for physicians to use a drug