The influence of cortisone on experimental tuberculosis of guinea pigs.

The marked effects of cortisone on a disease such as rheumatoid arthritis,’ in which bacterial hypersensitivity is said to play a part, suggested to us that perhaps cortisone would alter the pathogenesis of tuberculosis, a disease in which bacterial hypersensitivity occurs as a prominent feature. The following report is an account of an experiment in which it was found that the administration of cortisone to tuberculous guinea pigs was not beneficial and may even have been harmful. Furthermore, the use of this hormone appeared to inhibit the beneficial effects of a low dose of streptomycin. It was also found that tuberculin hypersensitivity was diminished by the administration of cortisone.