Treatment of inflammation with 15-keto-prostaglandin compounds

A method of treatment of a patient having an inflammation characterized by lesions caused by a defensive reaction or an inflammatory reaction of the patient and having signs of redness, heat, pain, swelling and loss of function which comprises administering, to a subject in need of such treatment, an anti-inflammatorily effective amount of a 15-keto-prostaglandin compound having the formula:

• ##STR7## wherein X and Y are hydrogen, hydroxy, halo, lower alkyl, hydroxy(lower)alkyl, or oxo, with the proviso that at least one of X and Y is a group other than hydrogen, and the 5-membered ring may have at least one double bond, Z is hydrogen or halo, A is --CH.sub.2 OH, --COCH.sub.2 OH, --COOH or its functional derivative, B is --CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2, --CH.dbd.CH-- or --C.dbd.C--, R.sub.1 is a bivalent saturated or unsaturated, lower or medium aliphatic hydrocarbon residue which is unsubstituted or substituted with halo, oxo or aryl, R.sub.2 is a saturated or unsaturated, lower or medium aliphatic hydrocarbon residue which is unsubstituted or substituted with halo, hydroxy, oxo, lower alkoxy, lower alkanoyloxy, cyclo(lower)alkyl, aryl or aryloxy, and a carbon atom of R.sub.2 adjacent to the "CO" is substituted by at least one halogen atom;
• or R.sub.2 is a saturated or unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon residue containing a 5 carbon atom chain attached to the "C" of the "CO" which is unsbustituted or substituted with halo, hydroxy, oxo, lower alkoxy, lower alkanoyloxy, cyclo(lower)alkyl, aryl or aryloxy, [and said carbon atom of R.sub.2 adjacent to the CO is substituted by at least one halogen atom or ] and the terminal carbon atom of R.sub.2 is substituted by a lower alkyl.