Peripheral and axial bone mass and fracture incidence were studied in a group of 104 postmenopausal patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients were divided into non-corticosteroid and low dose corticosteroid treated groups after elimination of patients with concomitant disease or therapy which might affect bone mass. Results were compared with those obtained in controls matched for age a...

Corticosteroids are widely used in modern medicine but can result in troubling psychiatric side-effects. Physicians and other medical professionals should be aware of the potential for these side-effects, possible means of prevention, and efficacious treatments. Herein, we review adult case report data published during the past quarter-century on adverse corticosteroid-induced psychiatric effec...

The loss of normal regulation of corticosteroid secretion is important in the development of cardiovascular disease. We previously showed that microRNAs regulate the terminal stages of corticosteroid biosynthesis. Here, we assess microRNA regulation across the whole corticosteroid pathway. Knockdown of microRNA using Dicer1 siRNA in H295R adrenocortical cells increased levels of CYP11A1, CYP21A...

OBJECTIVE To examine if changes in serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) correlate with the development of cartilage damage, as measured by histological grading, in corticosteroid-treated animals with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). METHODS DA rats with established CIA were treated with corticosteroids (betamethasone, 0.1 mg/kg body weight) or placebo (saline) intraperitoneally o...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of a short course of inhaled corticosteroid in the treatment of isolated and persistent nocturnal cough in children. DESIGN Randomised double blind placebo controlled study. SETTING Subjects' homes in east London, England. SUBJECTS Consecutively referred children, 1-10 years old, with persistent nocturnal cough. INTERVENTIONS Placebo or fluticasone pr...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Ongoing and severe systemic inflammation affecting critically ill patients may cause adrenal insufficiency and steroid resistance in target cells. As the appropriate diagnosis of this clinical entity remains a challenge, indication and practical use of corticosteroid replacement therapy in the critically ill is generally directed by clinical symptoms and features. RECENT FIN...