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.

Intendis GmbH forges agreement with SkinMedica to acquire two prescription dermatology products

Asset Purchase Agreement Signed for Marketed Prescription Products Desonate(R) and NeoBenz(R) Micro

3 Sep 2009

Corticosteroid and antiviral agent combination proves to be beneficial for treating Bell Palsy

Among patients with Bell Palsy, a facial paralysis with unknown cause, treatment with corticosteroids is associated with a reduced risk of an unsatisfactory recovery, and treatment with a combination of corticosteroids and antiviral agents may be associated with additional benefit, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of previously published studies, reported in the September 2 issue of JAMA.

2 Sep 2009

European Medicines Agency validates Schering-Plough's MAA for nomegestrol acetate/17 beta-estradiol

Schering-Plough Corporation, (NYSE: SGP), today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has validated (accepted for review) the company's Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for a fixed-dose combination of mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate for the maintenance treatment of asthma in patients 12 years of age and older.

27 Aug 2009

Genentech announces Phase III study results for Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemo in HER2-negative breast cancer

Genentech, Inc. today announced that a Phase III study (RIBBON 2) of Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemotherapy increased the time women with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer whose initial chemotherapy had stopped working lived without the disease worsening (progression-free survival or PFS), compared to chemotherapy alone.

18 Aug 2009

How to stop osteoarthritis pain

When arthritis affects the hands, a range of treatments may reduce pain and preserve joint mobility. The August issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter provides an overview.

13 Aug 2009

Tiotropium - corticosteroid combination improves lung disease survival

Sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have a greater chance of survival when treated with a combination of drugs that includes tiotropium, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

12 Aug 2009

Acute stress improves working memory

Day after day of chronic stress will wear a person down physically and mentally. But new research suggests that the acute stress produced by a brief run-in with a stressful scenario acts on a key brain region controlling emotion and cognition, temporarily improving learning and memory.

28 Jul 2009

Short stressful events may improve working memory

Experiencing chronic stress day after day can produce wear and tear on the body physically and mentally, and can have a detrimental effect on learning and emotion. However, acute stress -- a short stressful incident -- may enhance learning and memory.

23 Jul 2009

Adding antiviral agent to corticosteroids to treat facial paralysis not linked to improved recovery

Adding an antiviral agent to corticosteroids for treatment of Bell's palsy (a condition characterized by partial facial paralysis) is not associated with improved recovery of facial movement function, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies in the June issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

16 Jun 2009

Cremophor-based paclitaxel ‘chemo’ drug triggers fatal allergic reactions

A chemotherapy drug that is supposed to help save cancer patients' lives, instead resulted in life-threatening and sometimes fatal allergic reactions.

9 Jun 2009

Being overweight or obese does not worsen asthma, but may reduce response to medications

Being overweight or obese does not make asthma worse in patients with mild and moderate forms of the disease, according to a study by National Jewish Health researchers, although it may reduce the response to medications.

3 Jun 2009

New therapy shows potential for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School have discovered a new therapy that shows potential to treat people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal disease and the most common form of muscular dystrophy in children.

26 May 2009

$Older women underestimate risk of bone fracture$

Older women underestimate risk of bone fracture

Most women who are likely to have a bone fracture do not think they are at greater risk, said a leading Italian rheumatologist at a European conference. This could help to explain why many women do not adhere to preventive treatment.

24 May 2009

Vitamin D may halt lung function decline in asthma and COPD

Vitamin D may slow the progressive decline in the ability to breathe that can occur in people with asthma as a result of human airway smooth muscle (HASM) proliferation, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

20 May 2009

Good advice for a healthy pregnancy

Women can increase their chances for a healthy pregnancy by eating right, exercising, not smoking, and getting early medical care, says a podcast featuring a National Institutes of Health obstetrician who oversees research on pregnancy and birth.

20 May 2009

Obese mothers, asthmatic kids

Babies born to obese mothers may have an increased risk of asthma, according to data from a new study to be presented on May 19 at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.

19 May 2009

Cimzia approved in U.S. for rheumatoid arthritis

UCB announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cimzia, the only PEGylated anti-TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

13 May 2009

Self-management programs for asthma improve drug adherence, disease control

Asthma patients who spend as little as 30 minutes with a health care professional to develop a personalized self-management plan show improved adherence to medications and better disease control, according to a new study by a team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

6 May 2009

Children's characteristics may determine response to inhaled corticosteroid therapy for asthma

In a study published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and five other sites nationwide found that children who showed the most improvement in days without wheezing using an inhaled corticosteroid drug were caucasian boys who had allergies and had a hospitalization or emergency department visit for asthma symptoms in the year prior to the trial.

5 May 2009

Link found between vitamin D insufficiency and asthma severity

Serum levels of vitamin D in more than 600 Costa Rican children were inversely linked to several indicators of allergy and asthma severity, including hospitalizations for asthma, use of inhaled steroids and total IgE levels, according to a study that will appear in the first issue for May of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

23 Apr 2009