Corticosteroid News and Research

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Corticosteroids are any steroid hormones made in the adrenal cortex (the outer part of the adrenal gland). They are also made in the laboratory. Corticosteroids have many different effects in the body, and are used to treat many different conditions. They may be used as hormone replacement, to suppress the immune system, and to treat some side effects of cancer and its treatment. Corticosteroids are also used to treat certain lymphomas and lymphoid leukemias.

Phase 3 trial finds corticosteroid inhaler speeds recovery time in COVID-19 patients

The corticosteroid budesonide shows promise in treating patients with mild COVID-19 infection. Interim analysis of the phase 3 PRINCIPLE clinical trial was posted to the medRxiv preprint server. Researchers found a 3-day faster recovery of COVID-19 symptoms in people at high risk for severe side effects administered a budesonide inhaler. There was also a 2.1% reduction in hospitalization and death.

14 Apr 2021

Corticosteroid therapy in pregnant women with COVID-19

A new study describes the outcome of corticosteroid use in pregnancy.

29 Mar 2021

Covid-19 lockdown restrictions may have led to reduction in asthma exacerbations

Fewer patients with severe attacks were seen by their GP or admitted to hospital during the covid-19 pandemic, and fewer were admitted to hospital for pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung diseases, show findings from three papers published online in the journal Thorax.

27 Mar 2021

Study observes correlation between COVID-19 mortality and autoantibodies in corticosteroid treated patients

Corticosteroid anti-inflammatory drugs have been applied to COVID-19 patients over the course of the pandemic, though the results are mixed. In a recent study, the outcomes for such patients are collated, demonstrating a striking correlation between the development of autoantibodies and mortality.

25 Mar 2021

Long-term steroid treatment may not be necessary for kidney transplant patients

Long-term use of a medication used to treat kidney transplant patients may not be necessary in individuals with low-to-moderate risk of organ rejection, according to the results of a study led by a University of Cincinnati transplant researcher.

24 Feb 2021

Corticosteroid receptor inhibitor shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vivo

A team of researchers examined PT150, which is an allosteric modulator of androgen and glucocorticoid receptors, to assess whether it had any antiviral activity or immunomodulatory activity to decrease the hyperinflammatory response of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

24 Feb 2021

Influenza A virus defective interfering particles against SARS-CoV-2

In the search for a broadly acting pan-specific antiviral, an interdisciplinary team from Germany tested the previously proposed (for antiviral treatment against Influenza A infections) - Influenza A virus (IAV) defective interfering particles (DIPs). The research is published online on the bioRxiv preprint server.

23 Feb 2021

Study: Asthma does not increase risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19

A new study looking at how COVID-19 affects people with asthma provides reassurance that having the condition doesn't increase the risk of severe illness or death from the virus.

20 Feb 2021

Sensor-based asthma inhalers can benefit pediatric asthma patients

Sensor-based inhalers integrated into health care providers' clinical workflows may help improve medication adherence and support children with asthma - and their families - to more effectively manage this condition, according to a new Northwestern and Lurie Children's study published in Pediatrics.

17 Feb 2021

New process separates beneficial glucocorticoids from unwanted side-effects

A collaboration led by Scripps Research has developed a way to separate the beneficial anti-inflammatory properties of a group of steroids called glucocorticoids from some of their unwanted side-effects, through an optimization process they named "ligand class analysis."

3 Feb 2021

Colchicine may have therapeutic potential against COVID-19

A new study describes the results of colchicine in mitigating the inflammatory storm associated with COVID-19, and thus preventing a percentage of severe and critical cases.

1 Feb 2021

Researchers use urine test to identify and verify a patient's type of asthma

In a new study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have used a urine test to identify and verify a patient's type of asthma.

13 Jan 2021

Arthritis drug may be effective in treating immunotherapy-related heart complication

A drug typically prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis may also be effective in treating a rare but potentially deadly heart complication some cancer patients experience after taking immunotherapies, according to a study published in Cancer Discovery and co-led by investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

21 Dec 2020

COVID-19 pandemic highlights the risk of using systemic corticosteroids

Healthcare workers in tropical and sub-tropical settings where strongyloidiasis is prevalent or caring for patients who have travelled to such areas, need to maintain a high level of awareness about the use of corticosteroids, including when this class of anti-inflammatories is given to patients suspected of infection with SARS-CoV-2.

17 Dec 2020

Azithromycin trial fails to provide evidence of benefit in COVID-19

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, azithromycin was regarded as being a potentially highly effective drug against the virus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2.

16 Dec 2020

Lipid storm in severe COVID-19 linked to high COX/LOX pathway activity

A potentially valuable new study discusses the role of lipids in the hyper-inflammatory phenomena that take place within the lungs of patients with severe or critical COVID-19. Involving a large variety of specialized lipids with biological activity, this process includes the generation and release of pro and anti-inflammatory lipids.

8 Dec 2020