TREATMENT OF LOCALIZED SCLERODERMA (MORPHEA) WITH BISMUTH COMPOUND

IN 1937 two articles appeared in the French literature dealing with the successful treatment of localized scleroderma (morphea) with bismuth compounds. Weissenbach, Lévy-Franckel and Martineau¹ reported improvement in 1 case after the use of sodium bismuth iodide. Sézary² had encouraging results in 2 patients treated with bismuth hydroxide in oil ("muthanol").

After the successful treatment in 2 cases of localized scleroderma, one of us (JHS) suggested the use of bismuth compound in a case presented at the meeting of the Philadelphia Dermatological Society on Dec. 20, 1940.³ Anderson,⁴ following Stokes's suggestion, reported 75 per cent improvement in a girl aged 12, suffering from linear scleroderma of nine years' duration, after twelve injections of bismuth subsalicylate (0.13 Gm. each). Since these preliminary reports, McGuire,⁵ Smith,⁶, Rothman,⁷ Anderson,⁸ Stokes,⁹ Klauder,¹⁰ Counter¹¹ and Anderson¹² have suggested its use or added further