EFFECTS OF CORTISONE IN CERTAIN NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS

Abstract

The effects of cortisone have been studied in 12 patients with muscular or neuromuscular disorders. The therapeutic results in some instances were dramatic, while in others they may throw some light on the mechanism of the conditions involved. The studies were based on four patients with proximal girdle myopathy which appeared after the menopausal or climacteric period; two with dystrophia myotonica; one with myasthenia gravis; two with disseminated lupus erythematosus with severe muscular involvement; one with juvenile muscular dystrophy with severe contractures, and, finally, two with motor neuron disease manifested by bulbar palsy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. <h3>INVESTIGATION</h3> Muscle biopsy was carried out on all patients in order to confirm the clinical diagnosis as closely as possible. Eosinophil counts, basal metabolic rates, glucose tolerance curves and serum sodium, potassium, creatinine and uric acid levels were determined at three to five day intervals. Electromyograms on each patient were obtained before and