Article1 April 1954USE AND ABUSE OF CORTICOTROPIN (ACTH) AND CORTISONE IN ALLERGIC CONDITIONSLEON UNGER, M.D., F.A.C.P., ALBERT UNGER, M.D.LEON UNGER, M.D., F.A.C.P.Search for more papers by this author, ALBERT UNGER, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-40-4-721 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptINTRODUCTIONTo begin with, one must realize that as far as we know corticotropin (ACTH) and cortisone cure nothing. They have been widely used in both allergic and nonallergic conditions, but unless the illness can be successfully combated by other measures, either from without or from within, the basic disease is not changed by these two hormones. As stated in a recent editorial,1 even prolonged use of ACTH or cortisone does not change the allergic state, and recurrences usually follow when the hormones are stopped.We physicians, as a group, tend to be swept away by new therapeutic agents. The...Bibliography1. Editorial: Role of ACTH and cortisone in the treatment of allergic disease, J. Allergy 22: 482, 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Pickering GW: Proc. Brit. Assn. Allergists, Feb. 2, 1952, held in Royal Society of Medicine, London, pp. 175-177, quoted in Internat. Arch. Allergy (Basel) 3: 176, 1952. Google Scholar3. UngerUnger LAH: Treatment of bronchial asthma, J. A. M. A. 150: 562-569, 1952. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Seebohm PC (a) : Abstracts Midwest Regional Meeting, American College of Physicians, October 13, 1951. (b) Howard, J., Harvey, A. M., Carey, R. A., and Winkenwerder, W. L.: Effects of pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) on the hypersensitive state, J. A. M. A. 144: 1347, 1950. (c) Segal, M. S., and Herschfus, J. A.: Management of the patient in status asthmaticus, Postgrad. Med. 9: 435, 1951. (d) Randolph, T. G., and Rollins, J. P.: Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH): its effect in bronchial asthma and ragweed hay fever, Ann. Allergy 8: 149, 1950. (e) Feinberg, S. M., Dannenberg, T. B., and Malkiel, S.: ACTH and cortisone in allergic manifestations: therapeutic results and studies on immunological and tissue reactivity, J. Allergy 22: 195, 1951. (f) Levin, S. J.: ACTH in gelatin: clinical results with repository adrenocorticotropic hormone in allergic diseases, Ann. Allergy 11: 157, 1953. Google Scholar5. Keeton RN: Dramatic respiratory symptoms induced by sudden withdrawal of ACTH, J. A. M. A. 146: 615, 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. FriedlaenderFriedlaender SAS: Effect of cortisone administered orally in bronchial asthma, J. A. M. A. 146: 1381, 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. EvansRackemann RRFM (a) : Allergy—corticotropin and cortisone: A review of literature from Sept. 1950 to Jan. 1952, Arch. Int. Med. 90: 96-127, 1952. (b) Brown, E. A.: Adrenocorticotropic hormone, Internat. Arch. Allergy (Basel) 2: 226, 1951. (c) Brown, E. A.: ACTH and allergy, Ann. Allergy 10: 356-391, 496-529, 1952. (d) Unger, L., and Unger, A. H.: Chapter on allergy in Medical Progress, edited by M. Fishbein, 1953, The Blakiston Co., New York. CrossrefGoogle Scholar8. BormanSchmallenberg MCNC (a) : Suicide following cortisone treatment, J. A. M. A. 146: 337, 1951. (b) Feinberg, S. M., Feinberg, A. R., and Bigg, E.: Allergy to pituitary corticotrophic hormone, J. A. M. A. 147: 40, 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Chicago, Illinois*Received for publication August 10, 1953.From Northwestern University and Wesley Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byCORTISONE IN ASTHMAAllgemeiner TeilChronic Bronchial Asthma in the Older Age Group 1 April 1954Volume 40, Issue 4Page: 721-728KeywordsAdrenocorticotropic hormoneAllergic diseasesHormones Issue Published: 1 April 1954 PDF downloadLoading ...