According to new results from a comprehensive childhood asthma study, asthmatic children who benefited from steroid drugs are unable to experience the same results after discontinuing the usage.

The findings of this study came from the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) clinical trial in which more than 1,000 children were treated for mild-to-moderate asthma. Children were divided into three groups in which one group received twice-daily budesonide and an inhaled corticosteroid medication, the second group received a placebo and the third group received nedocromil (an inhaled non-steroid medication). All the three groups also received albuterol, a bronchodilator, and oral corticosteroids for treating asthma symptoms.

From News-Medical.Net:

Inhaled corticosteroids such as budesonide have been shown to be the most effective form of anti-inflammatory treatment for asthma by controlling symptoms and improving pulmonary function. Results from the original CAMP trial showed that using budesonide twice daily led to fewer hospitalizations and urgent care visits, fewer days in which additional asthma medications were needed and a reduced need for albuterol, a fast-acting drug for relief of acute asthma symptoms. Using nedocromil twice daily reduced urgent care visits and courses of oral steroids for severe symptoms, but did not affect the number of hospitalizations, symptoms or airway responsiveness.

Although the patients had fewer symptoms five years after stopping the daily medication, Strunk cautions that doesn’t mean that they can stop using asthma medications altogether or that their asthma is cured.

In another part of the follow-up study, the involved researchers had a close look at the long-term side effects of the steroid therapy on bone density, fracture rate, and growth.

The study is expected to provide deep insights to the medical fraternity to formulate new plans for treating asthma, which is considered to affect more than 150,000 people in the United States alone.

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Steroids, specifically, corticosteroids are considered wonder drugs in the world of medicine. Certain types of illnesses and conditions can be treated solely by corticosteroids. It works by suppressing inflammation and the immune response of the body from certain allergic reactions. Steroids are even use to treat certain respiratory conditions like asthma.

Since steroids, when used for prolonged periods of time causes side effects, it is important that you follow proper dosing guidelines. Use no more than what is needed and never stop steroids abruptly.

Make sure to get a flu or pneumonia vaccine since steroids can weaken the immune system even after a year of stopping the medication.

Damage to the digestive tract can be minimized, if not prevented by taking the medication with or after meals or with an antacid.

Steroids can also cause insomnia, so to prevent this from happening, take the medicine early in the day.

Osteoporosis is probably the most common side effect of steroids. To prevent or slow down the weakening effects of steroids to the bones, take Calcium and Vit. D supplements.

Have your blood pressure checked regularly. Stay away from alcohol, quit smoking and observe a healthy diet. These are just simple ways of minimizing steroid’s side effects.

From The New York Times:

The likelihood of serious side effects depends on how long steroids are used, how they are taken, what type of corticosteroid is prescribed and how high the dose must be to keep the ailment under control.

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Corticosteroids can be considered as a first-line therapy for treating Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), according to a new practice guideline published in the Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. It was suggested during the study that patients suffering from the ailment can experience great relief when corticosteroids are administered to them.

Two corticosteroids, prednisone and deflazacort, were recommended as potential treatment methodologies, as they have the unique ability to slowdown the rate of muscle deterioration leading to reduced effects of DMD.

Richard T. Moxley III, MD, of the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. and lead author, said that corticosteroids are the only effective drugs for providing improvements in children with DMD.

From News.Bio-Medicine.Org:

The guideline authors reviewed all available research for the use of corticosteroids in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Corticosteroids are man-made drugs that are similar to the body’s hormone cortisone. Two corticosteroids, prednisone and deflazacort, were found to slow the rate of muscle deterioration, and are recommended as potential treatments to minimize the effect of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Prednisone was found to help muscle strength and function and should be offered as a treatment option. Deflazacort, a drug similar to prednisone, is also recommended as a treatment option but is not available in the United States at this time.

“Corticosteroids are the only effective drugs in providing improvements in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy,” said lead author Richard T. Moxley III, MD, of the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y.

It was however remarked that pros and cons of steroid treatment must be evaluated carefully so that complete benefits can be attained.

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Pneumonia patients can recover faster when steroids are administered in conjunction with antibiotics when compared against those recovering with antibiotics alone, according to a study by scientists from the UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The study suggested that use of steroids with antibiotics can prove to be a very effective option when it comes to treating inflammation in the lungs of a pneumonia patient. This study was headed by Dr. Robert Hardy, Study’s Senior Author & Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.

From News-medical.net:

Adding corticosteroids to traditional antimicrobial therapy might help people with pneumonia recover more quickly than with antibiotics alone, UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have found.

Unlike the anabolic steroids used to bulk up muscle, corticosteroids are often used to treat inflammation related to infectious diseases, such as bacterial meningitis. Used against other infectious diseases, however, steroid therapy has been shown to be ineffective or even harmful.

In a study available online and in a future issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers at UT Southwestern show that mice infected with a type of severe bacterial pneumonia and subsequently treated with steroids and antibiotics recovered faster and had far less inflammation in their lungs than mice treated with antibiotics alone.

It was also remarked during the study that a combination of steroids and antibiotics is one of the best available therapy options for patients during asthma (M pneumoniae infection) attack. Researchers also said that while antibiotics are good options for killing the bug, steroids are good for treating inflammation in the lungs.

The findings of this study were supported by the National Institutes of Health.

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Abbott/Eisai’s Humira is about to earn Gold Standard Status for Ulcerative Colitis in 2012 as per a report from Decision Resources, one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues.

It was revealed by Decision Resources that the surveying gastroenterologists have been successful in ascertaining the effect of a therapy on remission induction and this effect is hailed as a critical attribute in positively influencing research decisions in moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UV). It was also revealed that corticosteroids have an advantage over Remicade in this attribute.

From Bio-Medicine.Org:

The new report entitled Ulcerative Colitis: Opportunity Awaits Therapies That Treat Moderate to Severe Disease More Effectively Than Infliximab finds that a drug that maintains remission in a higher percentage of patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis than infliximab at one year would earn a 30 percent patient share in the United States and a 15 percent patient share in Europe, according to surveyed U.S. and European gastroenterologists.

In 2008, Decision Resources’ proprietary clinical gold standard for ulcerative colitis was prednisone. Based on available data and expert opinion, Abbott/Eisai’s Humira (adalimumab) will earn gold-standard status for ulcerative colitis in 2012, following its approval for the indication in 2011. Interviewed experts believe that adalimumab has potential to be superior in maintenance of remission when compared to infliximab.

It was remarked by Decision Resources Analyst Benjamin Guikema, Ph.D., that adalimumab is believed to be more effective than infliximab when it comes to the maintenance setting. It was suggested that adalimumab is superior as well as more tolerable than any other available drugs in the present day market. The fact that Adalimumab offers a minimized risk of prominent organ also goes in its favor over other drugs.

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Boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who were previously unable to walk on their own for long can now have a sigh of relief. According to a recent study, daily steroid treatment allows them to walk on their own and minimize the risk of scoliosis to a considerable extent.

The results were part of a study that was published in the May 8, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

From News-Medical.Net:

For the study, researchers reviewed records of 143 boys seen at the Ohio State University Muscular Dystrophy Clinic in Columbus. Of the group, 75 had been treated with corticosteroids for an average of eight years and the rest of the boys had never been treated or had received a brief dose of steroids.

The study found boys who were treated with daily steroids walked by themselves 3.3 years longer than the untreated boys and had a lower rate of scoliosis, 31 percent compared to 91 percent.

“Previous studies have shown steroids improve strength and function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but this is the first study to show the long-term impact and how treated boys are able to walk longer on their own,” said study author Wendy King, PT, with the Department of Neurology at Ohio State University Medical Center, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

It was remarked that the benefits of steroids come at a cost of side effects and it is best to weigh the benefits and risk of steroid treatments before making any decision. The study is expected to bring smiles on the faces of patients and parents of these patients who have been long expecting a cure for this disorder.

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According to a study by scientists from the UT Southwestern Medical Center, people suffering from pneumonia can recover at a faster pace with a combination of corticosteroids and traditional antimicrobial therapy than with antibiotics alone.

It is interesting to note here that the unlike the anabolic steroids that are used to bulk up body muscle, corticosteroids are generally used for treating inflammation related to infectious diseases.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Some people might think that if you give steroids, it would counteract the effect of the antibiotic,” said Dr. Robert Hardy, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics and the study’s senior author. “But it turns out you need the antibiotic to kill the bug and the steroid to make the inflammation in the lung from the infection get better. The steroids don’t kill the bugs, but they do help restore health.”

Pneumonia is a lung infection typically characterized by breathing difficulties and spread by coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include headache, fever, chills, coughs, chest pain, sore throat and nausea. Pneumonia caused by the Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacterium is generally a less severe form of the disease that can occur in any age group. It accounts for 20 percent to 30 percent of all community-acquired pneumonia cases.

Dr. Hardy remarked that the group that received both the steroids and antibiotics did the best.

Other researchers from the UT Southwestern included Dr. Christine Salvatore, infectious-disease fellow in pediatrics; Dr. Chonnamet Techasaensiri, postdoctoral trainee in pediatrics; Dr. Asunción Mejías, assistant professor of pediatrics; Dr. Juan Torres, visiting senior researcher in pediatrics; Kathy Katz, senior research associate in pediatrics; and Dr. Ana Maria Gomez, assistant professor of pathology. Some researchers from the University of Milan also contributed to this study.

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According to scientists from the UT Southwestern Medical Center, adding corticosteroids to the traditional antimicrobial therapy can prove to be an effective option when it comes to helping pneumonia patients recover faster than with antibiotics alone.

Dr. Robert Hardy, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics and the study’s senior author, said that some people think that if you give steroids, they would counteract the antibiotic’s effect. But the truth is that patients need the antibiotic for killing the big and the steroids to improve the level of lung inflammation. In short, steroids do not actually kill the bug but help in restoring good health.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Although antimicrobials remain the primary therapy for M pneumoniae infection, there have been several reports in recent years about physicians adding steroids to the treatment regimen of patients with severe cases, Dr. Hardy said. The problem, he said, is that those were individual case reports.

“They never had a control group, so it was impossible to tell what impact the addition of steroids had on recovery,” he said.

The new findings not only suggest that giving antibiotics with steroids can help individuals with pneumonia get better faster, but also suggest a potentially more effective therapy for someone in the midst of an asthma attack due to M pneumoniae infection. Up to 20 percent of asthma attacks in children and adults have been shown to be triggered by this bacterium.

Despite the positive findings of this study, Dr. Hardy said that it is still too early to recommend steroids as a standard form of treatment for people suffering from this type of bacterial pneumonia, but the work does support the need for a clinical trial.

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According to new results coming from the ARDS Clinical Research Network of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, corticosteroids are not effective when it comes to improving the level of patient survival with late-stage ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome).

This study is hailed as the first multi-center randomized clinical trial to understand the worth of effects of moderate doses of steroids in ARDS patients when treatment is initiated 7 days or more after the onset of the condition.

From News-Medical.Net:

“These findings provide important information to help us determine the safest and most effective ways to care for patients with this devastating condition,” said NHLBI Director Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD. “Whether and how to use steroids to treat ARDS patients have been important questions for years. We now have better evidence of the effect of this treatment to help clinicians and patients make more informed decisions.”

There is no specific drug treatment for ARDS. The focus of care is to get enough oxygen into the blood until the lungs are functioning again. Patients are placed in the intensive care unit and supported with mechanical ventilators and fluids. Some patients recover and can breathe on their own within a week or so. Others might need to be on mechanical support to help with breathing for longer periods of time, but they can develop long-term complications from ventilator use or other treatments.

Earlier, it was believed that moderate doses of steroids can help in improving lung function and increasing survival rate but a larger randomized clinical trial suggested that steroids do not prolong survival when given to patients with late-stage ARDS and doctors must exercise a high sense of caution while treating their patients with steroids.

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Oftentimes the desire for a sexy body just cannot wait. Some students fall back to using steroids to rush up the procedure.

Steroids are a group of potent chemical compounds closely linked to the male sex hormone, testosterone.

There are many other types of steroidal drugs namely anabolic, androgenic and corticosteroids, all of which have legal functions. However, these beneficial medications are illegally used often by people who want to increase muscle as fast as possible.

Anabolic steroids, the most popular type, are chemically derived from testosterone and help grow muscle and bones while diminishing fat. Androgenic steroids, stimulate the male reproductive tract and male secondary sexual characteristics to develop.

Corticosteroids are artificial and imitate the activity of cortisone, a natural healing agent found inside the body. Corticosteroids aids athletes heal quicker from injuries.

Resorting to steroids, instead of naturally exercising toward improvement, can have life-ruining effects.

Beyond health, an illegal user would not be able to conceal their steroid use. The telling side effects of “roid” abuse are extremely noticeable. Baldness, smaller testicles and breast growth in men are common effects of steroid use.

Many individuals do not presume women use steroids, but the occurrence of females using steroids is increasing. Women also develop rich amounts of body hair and a larger clitoris that is visible through clothing.

From The Daily Aztec:

Sometimes the desire for a sexy beach body just can’t wait. From killer abs to heightened athletic performance, many students find it too hard to spend those grueling months in the gym and instead resort to using steroids to speed up the process. But, after learning about the ravaging consequences these seemingly harmless drugs have on the body and the embarrassing side effects that are sure to follow, it appears a little patience is the best bet after all.

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