A UCSF study has given hope to those suffering from severe cases of bacterial corneal ulcers that can result in blindness, if left untreated.

During the study, the use of topical corticosteroids in a randomized controlled trial was found to be neither beneficial nor harmful in the overall patient population.

From Ucsf.edu:

In a paper published this month in the Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, researchers found significant vision improvement — one and a half to two lines of improvement on an eye chart — by using steroid therapy on patients with severe ulcers.

“We consider this finding very significant; it’s a clinically meaningful difference,” said the paper’s co-author Nisha Acharya, MD, MS, associate professor and director of the Uveitis Service in the UCSF Department of Ophthalmology. Although secondary to the study’s original purpose, Acharyasaid the results in severe cases were identified early on, so “we didn’t start doing all of these analyses after the fact. It was of interest. So I think there is something there.”

The use of topical corticosteroids is somewhat controversial within the ophthalmology community, with no specific evidence pointing one way or the other. Concerns include corneal perforation and worsening vision.

“It’s important to note that in the worst ulcer group, not only do we not find a safety problem, we actually found that steroids resulted in a benefit in vision,” Acharya said.

Tags: corticosteroids, steroid therapy, steroids

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A potential form of treatment in context of one of the most common and fatal diseases in the UK – smokers lung – is about to be identified by scientists from the Imperial College, London that can solve problems in treatment with steroids.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – chronic bronchitis and emphysema, or ‘smoker’s lung’, is considered to affect approximately 6 percent of population in the United Kingdom.

From News-Medical.Net:

Steroids would normally be effective at treating inflammatory diseases such as COPD. However, COPD patients do not respond to steroid therapy. This is a major clinical problem due to the prevalence of the disease and the fact that it gets progressively worse.

Inflammation is caused by cells producing certain chemical signals. They do this by ‘switching on’ specific genes. Switching these genes off – and stopping inflammation – requires an enzyme called Histone Deacetylase 2 (HDAC2).

Professor Peter Barnes and his colleagues discovered that steroids act as a ‘molecular bridge’ to recruit HDAC2 to the appropriate genes where it can act to switch them off.

The London researchers found that in COPD, levels of HDAC2 are very low compared to normal cells, so that the steroids have no effect in switching off the activated inflammatory genes.

They then found that in lung cells in vitro, and in rats, low doses of a cheap and widely available drug raised the levels of HDAC2 and broke the steroid resistance.

The first stages of clinical trials to test low doses of this drug, theophylline, in COPD patients are now underway. If successful, this may lead to a change in the treatment of COPD and other severe inflammatory diseases that do not respond well to steroid therapy.

It was discovered by Professor Peter Barnes and his colleagues that steroids play the role of molecular bridges for recruiting HDAC2 in the context of respective genes where they can be made to switch off.

Tags: COPD, smokers lung, steroid therapy, steroids

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Pediatric oncologists at the Brenner Children’s Hospital, a part of the Wake Forest University BaptistMedical Center , have disclosed that young children suffering from chicken pox and treated with steroids could be at a risk for a more severe virus incidence that may lead to death.

This finding is expected to act as a warning bell for medical practitioners who have been treating their young patients afflicted with chicken pox with steroids.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Steroids are used to treat leukemia and they suppress the immune system,” said Thomas McLean, a pediatric oncologist at Brenner Children’s Hospital. “When a child is exposed to the varicella virus (the virus that causes chicken pox) around the time they are receiving steroid treatment, they are more likely to contract a more severe case of chicken pox.”

McLean and his colleagues studied 697 patients with acute leukemia over a nine-year period. About 16 percent or 110 patients contracted chicken pox. Of those 110 patients, 54 had severe disease, including two deaths. Of the patients whose chicken pox was diagnosed within three weeks of taking steroids, 70 percent had severe infection whereas only 44 percent of those who had not received steroid therapy within three weeks had severe infection. Although the study was limited to patients with leukemia, the findings may apply to other conditions for which steroids are used, McLean said.

“One of the things we need to remember to ask before we prescribe steroid treatment is whether the child has had a recent exposure to chicken pox,” McLean said. “If so, we recommend waiting until the incubation period has passed before beginning steroid therapy.”

Chicken Pox, though mild in its nature, could be devastating in some cases. It is worthwhile to note here that as many as 12,000 people used to die because of this disease every year before the varicella vaccine was discovered.

Tags: chicken pox, steroid therapy, steroid treatment, steroids

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A study by a team of researchers from the UT Southwestern Medical Center has revealed that steroids can be better than antibiotics alone for facilitating the recovery process for patients with pneumonia.

The study disclosed that a combination of antibiotics and steroids can prove better than antibiotics alone for restoring health of patients with pneumonia.

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.

The combination of steroids and antibiotics is useful even for patients in midst of an asthma attack (M pneumoniae infection). Clinical trials will soon be conducted to confirm these findings, as per Dr. Robert Hardy, Study’s Senior Author & Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.

Tags: anabolic steroids, corticosteroids, steroid therapy, steroids

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The possible risks of reintubation and stridor in selected high-risk patients could be minimized when use of steroids is made at least four hours before extubation, as per a report.

A quantitative meta-analysis of seven studies was conducted by Dr. Samir Jaber from University of Montpellier I in France and colleagues for ascertaining the efficacy of prophylactic steroid therapy to prevent reintubation and post-extubation stridor.

From Medscape.com:

Administration of steroids at least 4 hours before planned extubation significantly reduced the risk for reintubation, but not for stridor, the researchers note, and later administration of steroids did not decrease the risk for reintubation or stridor.

The investigators conclude: “The present meta-analysis suggests, first that the beneficial effect of steroids to prevent post-extubation stridor and reintubation were observed in the subgroup of patients with a high risk to develop post-extubation stridor, as identified by the cuff-leak test, and second that steroid treatment before a planned extubation decreases the risk of reintubation only if intravenous steroid administration was performed at least 4 hours before planned extubation.”

“The benefit of steroid remains unclear when patients are not selected,” they conclude.

It was indicated by the study that the risk of reintubation gets reduced in trials enrolling high-risk patients treated with steroids. It was, however, remarked that risk cannot be completely eliminated since it is not well-defined when conducted trials did not select patients for reintubation risk.

Tags: reintubation, steroid, steroid therapy, steroids, stridor

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Anabolic steroids have been long accused by medical practitioners for bringing health complications to people. What most people visiting dermatologists in the United States are unaware is the fact that dermatologists treat as many as 15 million patients affected with chronic skin conditions with steroids.

The worst part is that the treated patients are never told about the use of steroids.

From MedicalNewsToday.com:

Seagate Medical has launched a new natural skin care drug called epizyn (http://www.epizyn.com) that consists primarily of zinc gluconate. It is a unique patented broad spectrum gel and spray topical that penetrates skin on a cellular level to help relieve chronic skin conditions such as pruritis (itchy skin), burns, redness, acne, rashes (especially diaper rash), dry skin, psoriasis, and eczema (atopic dermatitis). It is a natural healing agent that is also great for wounds and greatly reducing scarring. It can even be used around the eyes.

“Epizyn is the greatest thing I have ever used,” said Bill Smith of Fayette, MO.

Unlike other zinc skin treatments, including zinc pyrithione and zinc oxide, epizyn offers greater bio-availability and pharmacokinetic properties, offering increased systemic circulation to rapidly assist in the body’s natural capability to restore skin back to its natural state. Most do not know that 20% of zinc in the human body is contained in the skin.

Originally, the epizyn compound was successfully used for treating skin conditions on numerous animal species including lacerations and even serious snake bites on horses. Those treating the animals could not believe the amazing effects it had on their own skin and word got out to dermatologists that the compound worked to heal the animal owners’ skin conditions just as well. Now it is the fastest-growing natural skin care product on the market. Sold through dermatologists and the Internet, epizyn is the only non-steroidal zinc gluconate available on the market.

It is worth noting here that long-term steroid use for skin may lead to complications such as steroid therapy resistance, allergies, skin thinning, and even Cushing’s disease.

Tags: anabolic steroids, epizyn, steroid, steroid therapy, steroids, use of steroids

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According to a review of evidence, low doses of steroids when used in the early phase of rheumatoid arthritis could inhibit joint damage.

It was remarked by review authors led by John Kirwan of Liverpool Women’s Hospital in England that treatment involving steroid pills with standard medications in the first two years after diagnosis should be made readily available to the patients.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Concern exists about the side effects of steroid therapy, however. High doses can contribute to heart disease, osteoporosis and other complications. Questions remain about whether smaller doses lead to similar problems.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys healthy joint tissue. The hands and feet are frequently affected, and as the disease progresses it can cause pain, swelling, deformity and disability.

The steroids studied in the review are known as glucocorticoids and include the well-known anti-inflammatory prednisone. This medication is often prescribed in the first few months after diagnosis to relieve the discomfort of RA until slower-acting drugs begin protecting the joints.

Until now, concerns about side effects caused most rheumatologists to “put people on the lowest possible dose of steroids and get them off it as soon as possible,” said Scott Zashin, M.D., of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “Now, we have to give steroids a little more respect.”

The benefits from this treatment option were statistically significant when reviewers made use of statistical methods for focusing on only the highest-quality data.

Tags: Rheumatoid arthritis, steroid, steroid therapy, steroids

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Use of modern immunosuppressive drugs eliminates the need for steroid therapy as early as one week following a transplant surgery besides maintaining kidney function.

Steve Woodle, MD, chief of UC’s transplant surgery division, principal investigator and designer of the study, said that elimination of a daily dose of steroids after transplant reduces chronic health conditions common to kidney transplant recipients.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Steroids have long been the primary source of morbidity and complications following successful kidney transplantation,” Woodle says. “This study demonstrates that elimination of even small, daily prednisone (pred-ne-zone) doses does not compromise results while minimizing weight gain, diabetes and bone complications.”

Corticosteroids were the first anti-rejection drug used in transplant patients, dating back to the first transplant surgeries over 50 years ago.

Traditionally patients who have undergone organ transplantation have required life-long steroid treatments given in combination with other drugs that help suppress the body’s immune system and allow the transplanted organ to function properly.

However, the steroid treatment—given as the oral drug, prednisone—can cause serious side effects including cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and blood pressure, weight gain, diabetes, bone weakness and cataracts.

This study also involved researchers from the University of Wisconsin; the University of Utah; the Methodist Hospital, Houston; and Weill Cornell Medical College and was funded by Astellas Pharma U.S., Inc.

Tags: Prednisone, steroid, steroid therapy, steroids, transplant surgery

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Withdrawal of certain immunosuppressive drugs after transplantation of the kidney could prolong survival and help in saving a considerable amount of money when compared with keeping patients on these medications for life.

This finding was disclosed in a study that appeared in an issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

From Medicalnewstoday.com:

Sirolimus, in combination with steroids, is currently the only immunosuppressive treatment regimen that is approved for use when calcineurin inhibitors are withdrawn. Therefore, Dr. Earnshaw’s group compared treatments containing sirolimus plus steroids versus treatments that maintained the use of calcineurin inhibitors.

The researchers’ decision-analytic model, using data published in the literature and reported by the US transplant registry, assumed that within the first 12 months following transplant surgery, sirolimus plus steroid therapy is associated with a greater risk of kidney allograft rejection than regimens that continue to use calcineurin inhibitors. Other commonly used regimens include a calcineurin inhibitor such as cyclosporine or tacrolimus, plus mycophenolate mofetil and steroids. In this particular study, it was assumed that in the absence of induction therapy a total of 21.8% of patients taking sirolimus plus steroids experienced acute rejection within one year of transplantation, compared with 19.0% of patients taking cyclosporine plus mycophenolate mofetil and steroids, and 17.1% of patients taking tacrolimus plus mycophenolate mofetil and steroids.

However, it was revealed that overall, treatment with sirolimus plus steroids may be more efficacious and less costly than regimens that continued to use calcineurin inhibitors. Specifically, withdrawal of calcineurin inhibitors may prolong patients’ lives and improve their kidney function.

Funding for this analysis was provided by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Collegeville, PA.

Tags: Sirolimus, steroid therapy, steroids, transplant surgery

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Anabolic steroids have long been accused of risking health and well being of people pursuing the obsession of raw power but steroid abuse is not just about muscles but also about skin. It may sound strange but most dermatologists in the United States administer steroids to as many as 15 million patients with chronic skin ailments without the patients ever knowing about the steroid aspect.

It is worth noting here that steroid use in the long run can result in possible side effects such as thinning of skin, resistance to steroid therapy, allergies, and even Cushing’s disease.

From MedicalNewsToday.com:

Seagate Medical has launched a new natural skin care drug called epizyn (http://www.epizyn.com) that consists primarily of zinc gluconate. It is a unique patented broad spectrum gel and spray topical that penetrates skin on a cellular level to help relieve chronic skin conditions such as pruritis (itchy skin), burns, redness, acne, rashes (especially diaper rash), dry skin, psoriasis, and eczema (atopic dermatitis). It is a natural healing agent that is also great for wounds and greatly reducing scarring. It can even be used around the eyes.

“Epizyn is the greatest thing I have ever used,” said Bill Smith of Fayette, MO.

Unlike other zinc skin treatments, including zinc pyrithione and zinc oxide, epizyn offers greater bio-availability and pharmacokinetic properties, offering increased systemic circulation to rapidly assist in the body’s natural capability to restore skin back to its natural state. Most do not know that 20% of zinc in the human body is contained in the skin.

Originally, the epizyn compound was successfully used for treating skin conditions on numerous animal species including lacerations and even serious snake bites on horses. Those treating the animals could not believe the amazing effects it had on their own skin and word got out to dermatologists that the compound worked to heal the animal owners’ skin conditions just as well. Now it is the fastest-growing natural skin care product on the market. Sold through dermatologists and the Internet, epizyn is the only non-steroidal zinc gluconate available on the market.

These findings are considered to offer critical implications for understanding the use and pros and cons of steroids.

Tags: anabolic steroids, steroid, steroid therapy, steroids, use of steroids

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