Abstract
Conclusions
Cortisone in doses of 4 mg twice daily depressed the Arthus reaction in the skin and completely prevented arteritis and carditis in 8 of 9 rabbits treated with horse serum. Glomerular nephritis, on the other hand, was not prevented. The zona fasciculata of the adrenals was atrophied. The mortality rate was highest among the animals receiving cortisone. Hyaluronidase in doses of 6000 T.R.U. per kg depressed the Arthus reaction in the skin and diminished glomerular nephritis, but enhanced arteritis and carditis. These observations may be explained by the ability of hyaluronidase to weaken ground substance barriers, thereby diverting antigen and antibody from the kidneys to the general vascular bed. DCA and Artisone in the doses used had no remarkable effect on the histological manifestations of serum disease, but DCA caused a depression of the Arthus reaction in the skin possibly through its hyaluronidase-like effect upon the ground substance.
It appears that serum disease is an excellent experimental tool for comparing the total efficacy of cortisone-like drugs after preliminary screening for their anti-permeability action on ground substance.
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