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.

Best treatment for the immobilizing trauma of spinal cord compression in metastatic cancer

In this week's Lancet, Patchell's UK research team evaluate traditional surgical and radiation therapy options and conclude that direct decompressive surgery plus postoperative radiotherapy is more effective than either radiotherapy alone or other surgical options.

22 Aug 2005

Plasma exchange treatment shown most helpful for severe attacks in subtype of MS patients

A Mayo Clinic study demonstrates that only those multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with evidence for antibody deposition or complement activation -- immune cells that can cause tissue destruction -- in their lesions are likely to respond to plasma exchange, a treatment for acute MS attacks.

11 Aug 2005

Study warns against global use of old asthma medicines for kids' coughs

An asthma medicine widely used around the world to stop children's coughs has no provable benefit for that purpose and may cause harm, a new review of existing studies reports.

19 Jul 2005

Urine testing may predict birthmarks

Vascular anomalies - birthmarks caused by abnormal development of arteries, capillaries, veins or lymph vessels - can sometimes begin to progress, requiring aggressive treatment to save the child's health or vision. Research at Children's Hospital Boston now suggests that urine testing can help monitor these anomalies and predict those about to become a serious threat.

6 Jul 2005

Daclizumab effective at reducing organ rejection and risk of infection in heart transplant patients

A new study shows that a drug, called daclizumab, is effective at reducing organ rejection and risk of infection in heart transplant patients. The multi-center study by cardiologists from the United States, Sweden, Germany and Canada will be published in the June 30 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Jun 2005

Greater use of evidence-based medicine needed in US outpatient care

Although the quality of outpatient care in the United States has improved over the last decade, greater use of evidence-based medicine is needed, however, and quality of care is not significantly associated with the patient's racial or ethnic background, according to a study in the June 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

27 Jun 2005

La Jolla Pharmaceutical provides update on Riquent

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company today announced that it has received "fast track" designation for Riquent (abetimus sodium) for the treatment of lupus renal disease from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

31 May 2005

Tragic death of 5 year old asthma patient was avoidable and due to complacency of health professionals

At a fatal accident inquiry a sheriff has hit out at the "complacency" of health professionals and a drugs manufacturer over the safety of an asthma inhaler steroid.

25 May 2005

Corticosteroids should not be used in the treatment of head injuries

Corticosteroids should not be used in the treatment of head injuries, conclude the final results of a randomised trial published online today (Thursday May 26, 2005) by The Lancet.

25 May 2005

New Symbicort single inhaler asthma treatment gives much better asthma control

A new asthma treatment regimen promises to deliver a great improvement in key measures of asthma control and should simplify the management of the disease compared with other treatments.

23 May 2005

New drug fluticasone was just as effective as beclomethasone and budesonide at opening up constricted breathing passages

A new inhaled drug for chronic asthma may improve lung function as much as two older inhaled asthma drugs but at half the dose, a review of recent studies concludes.

19 May 2005

Sales of asthma therapies will jump from $8.4 billion in 2003 to $13.1 billion in 2013

Decision Resources, a research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and health care issues, forecasts that sales of asthma therapies in the United States, Japan, and Western Europe will jump from $8.4 billion in 2003 to $13.1 billion in 2013.

23 Apr 2005

Fish oil, soluble fiber and antioxidants reduces need for traditional ulcerative colitis treatment

According to a study published in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, a nutritionally complete oral supplement enriched with fish oil, soluble fiber and antioxidants reduces reliance on traditional therapies for people with ulcerative colitis.

6 Apr 2005

New once a day asthma treatment approved by FDA

More than 5,000 people die from asthma each year in the United States. Although asthma deaths are infrequent, they have increased significantly during the last two decades.

4 Apr 2005

Intervention with once-daily budesonide reduces long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma-related events

New data indicated that earlier intervention with once-daily budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid delivered by dry powder inhaler to children with mild persistent asthma, significantly reduced the long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma-related events as well as the need for other inhaled medication.

21 Mar 2005

Up to 500,000 Americans will develop lupus-related kidney disease

According to the Lupus Foundation of America, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Americans with the autoimmune disease lupus eventually will develop lupus-related kidney disease, known as lupus nephritis. Lupus nephritis is one of the most serious manifestations of lupus and can lead to serious health problems, kidney failure, disability or death.

27 Feb 2005

Common clinical problem, Rosacea

A number of clinical symptoms and signs are included under the broad group Rosacea. Facial flushing, the appearance of broken blood vessels and persistent redness of the face, eruption of inflamed spots & pimples, on the face and thickening of the sebaceous glands of the nose, with swelling & congestion in that area.

24 Feb 2005

Calcium and vitamin D treatment alone can improve bone mineral density in Crohn's patients

According to a study published today in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the addition of popular bone building drugs to calcium and vitamin D therapy to treat bone loss associated with Crohn's disease is not beneficial.

1 Feb 2005

Use of anti-inflammatory steroids for traumatic head injuries may actually increase the risk of death

The common use of anti-inflammatory steroids for traumatic head injuries like those from car crashes may actually increase the risk of death, according to a new review of studies about the treatment.

24 Jan 2005

Doctor report cards not always clear when comparing quality of care

When choosing a doctor based on increasingly popular “doctor report cards,” patients should be aware that the areas in which physicians are graded are not always clear-cut, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine.

19 Jan 2005