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ACTH in the Treatment of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis 1
Author(s) -
VESTERDAL J.,
REMVIG O.,
SPRECHLER M.
Publication year - 1952
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1952.tb17014.x
Subject(s) - medicine , juvenile rheumatoid arthritis , ankylosis , surgery , arthritis , ascorbic acid , juvenile , rheumatoid arthritis , adrenal cortex , chemistry , food science , biology , genetics
Summary Seven patients, aged 2 1 / 2 ‐12 years, suffering from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis were treated with ACTH, each patient receiving 1–3 series of injections (total: 10 series). Eight of these series induced remissions, but in only one case the effect was permanent (observation time: 3 1 / 2 months). This patient had a very active arthritis, and he received a preliminary treatment with small doses of ACTH, probably causing a hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex, which may account for the good response. The administration of ascorbic acid, 5 g daily, and cholesterol, 1–1 1 / 2 g daily, had no demonstrable clinical effect. Six patients had deformities. In three of these a correction of the deformities was obtained. In two of the remaining three cases they proved to be due to osseous ankylosis. The authors are of the opinion that ACTH is indicated in cases where deformities are developing, and also when deformities have already developed, if these have not yet been ascertained to be due to osseous ankylosis.