This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (31)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Fifty Years Later

Michael Raizman, MD

Arch Ophthalmol. 1996;114(8):1000-1001.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE the practice of ophthalmology without corticosteroids. Fifty years ago the treatment options for uveitis included atropine drops, oral salicylates, direct application of heat to the eye, and induction of fever with typhoid vaccine or other proteins. Then, in 1949, Hench and associates¹ described the beneficial effects of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisone in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Within months of this seminal article it was clear that these drugs could help control ocular inflammation, and case reports began to appear. To read these articles is to share in the excitement and promise of a new era.

In 1949, Elkinton and associates² described improvement of hemorrhagic retinopathy in a patient treated with ACTH for "generalized collagen disease." Three separate reports soon followed. Mann and Markson³ successfully controlled a patient's uveitis and episcleritis with ACTH therapy. Gordon and McLean⁴ described transient improvement . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Boston, Mass

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?