Meticorten (prednisone) and meticortelone (prednisolone) in the treatment of allergic disorders

Abstract

HE introduction of prednisone (Meticorten) and prednisolone (Meticortelone) has been most helpful in the treatment of various allergic diseases as well as arthritis.l-g These new steroids have all the advantages of their precursors, but less of their undesirable effects. It has been shown that there are little or no sodium retention and potassium depletion, and hence edema is less frequent with these. new derivatives than with ACTH, cortisone, or hydrocortisone.10-12 Meticorten is an analogue of cortisone, produced by the dehydrogenation of the carbon atoms in positions one and two of the cortisone nucleus, resulting in a double bond between C, and C,. Its chemical formula is delta19 4 -pregnadiene1’7 alpha, 21-diol-3, 11, 20-trione. Meticortelone is a similar analogue of hydrocortisone. In a previous report, we3 found no change in body weight, blood pressure, or sodium retention in twenty allergic patients treated with Meticorten. Likewise, there was little or no noticeable edema in the patients taking Meticorten in the dosages employed. It was concluded that Meticorten was clinically four to five times as effective as cortisone and three to four times as effective as hydrocortisone, milligram for milligram. This article is a continuation and extension of our previous report, encompassing more patients over a longer period of time. The comparative effectiveness of Meticorten and Meticortelone in various allergic conditions in the same patient at different times was also studied. The clinical results and side effects of these new steroids, relative one to the other and also to the older hormones (ACTH, cortisone, and hydrocortisone), are likewise reported.