The present status of treatment of autoimmune hemolytic anemia with ACTH and cortisone.

Wit/i 1/me technical assistance of LOUISE I} s M ORE thami five years have elapsed since the favorable effects of adrenocorticotropic hormomie on the course of acquired autoimmune hemolytic anemia were first recorded.’3 Since then numerous reports have appeared cmicompassimig seties of cases or individual case reports, all in general attesting to the usefulmiess of this form of therapy.422 The relatively large series of cases treated 1)\’ this method in our clinic with subsequent extended follow-up studies now’ permuit some estimatioms of the immediate remission rate, the rate of relapse, the feasibility of maintenance therapy, as w’ell as some statement of our present impressioms regarding the role of splenectomy in this disorder. This paper is comicertied w’ith a study of 43 consecutive cases of autoimmumie hemolytic anemia in w’hich t.he imiitialform of therapy s’as the use of ACTH or otie of the steroi(1 hormones.