Abstract
It IS HARD TO IMAGINEthe practice of ophthalmology without corticosteroids. Fifty years ago the treatment options for uveitis included atropine drops, oral salicylates, direct application of heat to the eye, and induction of fever with typhoid vaccine or other proteins. Then, in 1949, Hench and associates 1 described the beneficial effects of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisone in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Within months of this seminal article it was clear that these drugs could help control ocular inflammation, and case reports began to appear. To read these articles is to share in the excitement and promise of a new era. In 1949, Elkinton and associates 2 described improvement of hemorrhagic retinopathy in a patient treated with ACTH for generalized collagen disease. Three separate reports soon followed. Mann and Markson 3 successfully controlled a patient's uveitis and episcleritis with ACTH therapy. Gordon and McLean 4 described transient improvement
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