INGESTION OF LARD IN THE TREATMENT OF ECZEMA AND ALLIED DERMATOSES

Abstract

Knowing of Hansen's results in the treatment of infantile eczema from the feeding of unsaturated fatty acids, as well as those of Cornbleet, Ginsberg and others, and having learned that Burr found lard a particularly rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, a little over two years ago one of us (C. W. F.) prescribed lard to be taken by mouth to a group of 42 ambulatory patients who were suffering from various forms of chronic dermatitis. They were of all ages, from infancy to well past middle age. Thirty-one of these were followed for variable periods, and the majority of them were thought to have shown some degree of improvement after having taken lard for from a few weeks to a few months. These patients were not well controlled, but the results appeared encouraging enough to warrant further and better controlled study. The results obtained in these original cases are