Local effects of cortisol in the time course of eosinophilotaxis with the use of an improved technique

Several workers have shown that the application of the appropriate allergenic extract to superficially denuded skin sites in patients with pollinosis is followed by the appearance of eosinophils in the exudate. Studies were done to determine the time course of migration of eosinophils to such sites. The influx of eosinophils was found to be most intense at about 12 hours, on the average, after application of the allergen and then to decrease significantly 24 hours after application. Since the administration of corticosteroids in the treatment of allergic and other conditions causes a rapid reduction in the number of eosinophils in the blood, studies were also done to determine whether cortisol applied locally would influence the accumulation of eosinophils at a skin site. The results indicate that cortisol has a pronounced inhibitory effect which appeared to be specific in that the inhibition could not be explained in its entirety as a mere consequence of an anti-inflammatory effect of the steroid.