THIS ARTICLE is based on observations on corticotropin (ACTH) and cortisone therapy of a patient with psoriatic erythroderma and arthritis and of three patients with pemphigus vulgaris. In this study we tried to establish the "maintenance dose" of corticotropin and cortisone and the ratio of effective dosage of corticotropin in aqueous solution when given intramuscularly and intravenously and of cortisone orally.
For this type of study cutaneous diseases like those dealt with in this report are most suitable, for they fulfil the following requirements: Their course is predictable, and so spontaneous remission will not be considered readily as a result of treatment. The response to the hormonal drug is prompt. The eruption recurs or exacerbates promptly when treatment is discontinued or when the dosage is diminished. Their course is of sufficiently long duration. Last but not least, they have easily recognizable signs on which the effect or failure