Corticosteroid: Encyclopedia II - Corticosteroid - Uses

Corticosteroid - Uses

Synthetic drugs with corticosteroid-like effect are used in a variety of conditions, ranging from brain tumors to skin diseases. Dexamethasone and its derivatives are almost pure glucocorticoids, while prednisone and its derivatives have some mineralocorticoid action in addition to the glucocorticoid effect. Fludrocortisone (Florinef®) is a synthetic mineralocorticoid. Hydrocortisone (cortisol) is available for replacement therapy, e.g. in adrenal insufficiency and congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Synthetic glucocorticoids are used in the treatment of joint pain or inflammation (arthritis), dermatitis, allergic reactions, asthma, hepatitis, lupus erythematosus, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease), sarcoidosis and for glucocorticoid replacement in Addison's disease or other forms of adrenal insufficiency. Topical formulations for treatment of skin or inflammatory bowel disease are available.

Typical undesired effects of glucocorticoids present quite uniformly as drug-induced Cushing's syndrome. Typical mineralocorticoid side effects are hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure), hypokalemia (low potassium levels in the blood), hypernatremia (high sodium levels in the blood) without causing peripheral edema, and metabolic alkalosis.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Uses", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki