Glucocorticoid is a compound that belongs to the family of compounds called corticosteroids (steroids). Glucocorticoids affect metabolism and have anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. They may be naturally produced (hormones) or synthetic (drugs).
A drug used to treat high blood pressure and enlargement of the prostate may protect the brain from damage caused by post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer's disease, depression and schizophrenia.
Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a fatal systemic disease featuring acute onset, serious conditions, high incidence of complications and 20 - 30% mortality, mainly due to multiple organ failure at its early stage.
It is well known that being stressed increases our susceptibility to infections by impairing the function of our immune system, but the molecular links between stress and diminished immune function have not been determined.
Researchers report in the September 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research that they have made synthetic lipids called pseudoceramides that are involved in skin cell growth and could be used in treating skin diseases in which skin cells grow abnormally.
For infants with a common and potentially serious viral lower respiratory infection called bronchiolitis, a widely used steroid treatment is not effective.
DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan has found that a common steroid treatment often prescribed for kids with bronchiolitis has no impact on improving their symptoms or in reducing hospitalization.
The use of steroid medication to treat bronchiolitis, a common viral lower respiratory infection in infants , does not prevent hospitalization or improve their respiratory symptoms, according to a study published in the July 26 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Subjecting mice to repeated emotional stress, the kind we experience in everyday life, may contribute to the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
Three new drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have ushered in a new era of treatment for this difficult and debilitating condition.
Novo Nordisk has announced that Norditropin (somatropin[rDNA origin] injection) received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of short stature in children with Noonan syndrome.
What creates that irresistible urge for a bag of potato chips or a hunk of chocolate cake, as opposed to a nice crisp apple? Can food urges be irresistible?
Genelabs Technologies has announced that it has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for a Phase III clinical trial of Prestara (prasterone) for treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus).
According to researchers in the U.S. children who suffer severe stress may also suffer damage to their brains.
There is no clear benefit from a hormone commonly prescribed to enhance the effectiveness of infertility treatments, according to a new review of studies.
Experts in the United States say the results of a study with mice suggests that stress in itself may cause anxiety and depression.
Neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School and its affiliate McLean Hospital have shown that long-term exposure to stress hormone in mice directly results in the anxiety that often comes with depression.
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have revealed that the cortisol/obesity connection, touted by many weight-loss supplement marketers, may be even more tenuous than first thought.
In a small study from a referral center for dermatology, most patients receiving prolonged oral corticosteroids for chronic skin diseases were not receiving therapies to prevent osteoporosis that may be caused by the drug, according to an article in the January issue of Archives of Dermatology.
Researchers at the Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease Center and the Division of Gastroenterology at Loyola University Health System are studying a once-yearly, 15-minute infusion of an intravenous (IV) medication in patients with osteopenia (low bone mass) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that, if proven effective, may be considered the standard of treatment.
"It's generally understood that females respond more strongly to acute (immediate, short-term) stress than males," said Helmer Figueiredo, PhD, of UC's department of psychiatry. "Our research shows that this may also be the case in more clinically relevant chronic-stress conditions."