Abstract
Summary
The effect of topically applied cortisone upon vaccinia virus infection in the rabbit skin was studied. No difference was observed in the number of lesions that appeared in treated as compared with untreated areas, but lesions in cortisone-treated sites attained a greater size than did those in control sites (70% greater area). Also the pathologic process was prolonged by cortisone, from 17 days in control to 27 days in treated areas, namely, by increasing the reparative phase. Comparative titrations, performed in chick embryos and in rhesus monkey kidney cell culture, of the viral contents of lesions from the 2 sites, disclosed no significant difference. These findings may be explained by the inhibitory effect which cortisone exerts upon inflammatory and reparative processes. It seems that cortisone did not essentially modify cell susceptibility to the vaccinia virus.
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