Posts Tagged ‘corticosteroid’

Prazosin, a drug for treating prostate enlargement and high blood pressure, may be an effective option to protect the brain from possible damage resulting from post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and schizophrenia.

It was remarked by study co-author S. Paul Berger, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience, OHSU School of Medicine and the PVAMC, that prazosin can prove its worth by protecting the brain from any damage due to excessive levels of corticosteroid stress hormones.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Our hypothesis is that just being afraid of being blown up all the time means you have high levels of steroids all the time,” Berger said, referring to PTSD among military personnel.

Low levels of glucocorticoids have anti-inflammatory effects in the brain, but high levels can trigger inflammatory mechanisms that damage nerve cells by activating an enzyme that causes oxidative stress. Even a single exposure to a high dose of glucocorticoids can be sufficient to damage nerve cells: A previous study showed synthetic glucocorticoid therapy to treat autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis can induce mood disorders, including psychosis, and cognitive impairment known as “steroid dementia” in severe forms.

To determine the effects of prazosin, OHSU and PVAMC researchers, led by Altaf Darvesh, Ph.D., formerly of the OHSU Department of Psychiatry, administered a glucocorticoid called dexamethasone to rats, then measured the expression of a protein known as heat shock protein 70, or HSP70, that serves as a marker for neurotoxicity. Pretreatment with prazosin, an alpha-1 receptor antagonist, resulted in “significant” slowing of dexamethasone-induced expression in the cerebral cortex.

Berger further remarked that future research will be examining how steroids pose a threat to the brain and when prazosin should be administered to most effectively protect the brain against damage.x

According to a finding appearing in the December issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, injecting the corticosteroid triamcinolone directly into the eye can considerably slow down the progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that can result in loss of vision and blindness.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Corticosteroids have been shown to interfere with the creation of new blood vessels, possibly by reducing the production of compounds that spur their growth, the authors note. However, steroids are also associated with other eye diseases.

“Use of this intravitreal [injected into the eye] corticosteroid preparation to reduce the likelihood of progression of retinopathy is not warranted at this time because of the increased risk of glaucoma and cataract associated with intravitreal steroid use,” the authors write. “Any treatment to be used routinely to prevent proliferative diabetic retinopathy likely needs to be relatively safe because the condition already can be treated successfully and safely with panretinal photocoagulation. Nevertheless, further investigation with regard to the role of pharmacotherapy for reduction of the incidence of progression of retinopathy appears to be warranted.”

Neil M. Bressler, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues in the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network conducted the study that involved 840 eyes of 693 participants having macular edema.

Injecting triamcinolone, the corticosteroid, directly into the eye may have the ability to slow down the progression of diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that often results in loss of vision and blindness.

The finding was presented in a report in the December issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is an ailment that occurs when new blood vessels are formed on the optic disc or another retina component.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Corticosteroids have been shown to interfere with the creation of new blood vessels, possibly by reducing the production of compounds that spur their growth, the authors note. However, steroids are also associated with other eye diseases.

“Use of this intravitreal [injected into the eye] corticosteroid preparation to reduce the likelihood of progression of retinopathy is not warranted at this time because of the increased risk of glaucoma and cataract associated with intravitreal steroid use,” the authors write. “Any treatment to be used routinely to prevent proliferative diabetic retinopathy likely needs to be relatively safe because the condition already can be treated successfully and safely with panretinal photocoagulation. Nevertheless, further investigation with regard to the role of pharmacotherapy for reduction of the incidence of progression of retinopathy appears to be warranted.”

This study was conducted by Neil M. Bressler, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues in the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network and involved 840 eyes of 693 participants having macular edema.

Chronic asthmatic patients can now benefit from a new treatment option that can help them to manage their ailment in an easy, effective manner with a single prescribed inhaler that contains two medicines as per a new review.

It is worth noting that the use of both beta2-agonist (formoterol) and a low-dose corticosteroid (budesonide) in a single inhaler and this review evaluated the new inhaler’s effectiveness.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Encouraging people to use their preventive medication is important, as it is often the case that people with asthma default on their inhaled corticosteroids,” said lead reviewer Christopher Cates, M.D., at the Community Health Sciences of St. George’s at the University of London. “This is partly because inhaled steroids do not make an immediate difference to asthma symptoms.”

In most studies, participants had treatment with a single inhaler – one inhalation of 80/4.5 milligrams of budesonide/formoterol twice daily, and as needed. Patients in the control groups used their prescribed inhaled corticosteroid with a separate reliever inhaler. Cates and his colleague evaluated three studies that included more than 4,200 adults and adolescents with chronic asthma. One study also included 224 children.

The Cochrane reviewers found no significant reduction in the number of asthma exacerbations that required hospitalization among the patients who used single inhaler therapy.

Carlos Camargo, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said that this single-inhaler therapy is a new approach to chronic asthma treatment is expected to provide great relief but requires further research before it can be recommended.

Individuals suffering from chronic asthma are likely to benefit from a new treatment option that can help them manage their health effectively with a single prescribed inhaler including two medicines, as per a new review.

The involved researchers were studying the effectiveness of both a low-dose corticosteroid (budesonide) and beta2-agonist (formoterol) in a single inhaler.

The review appeared in an issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization evaluating research in all health care aspects.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Encouraging people to use their preventive medication is important, as it is often the case that people with asthma default on their inhaled corticosteroids,” said lead reviewer Christopher Cates, M.D., at the Community Health Sciences of St. George’s at the University of London. “This is partly because inhaled steroids do not make an immediate difference to asthma symptoms.”

In most studies, participants had treatment with a single inhaler – one inhalation of 80/4.5 milligrams of budesonide/formoterol twice daily, and as needed. Patients in the control groups used their prescribed inhaled corticosteroid with a separate reliever inhaler. Cates and his colleague evaluated three studies that included more than 4,200 adults and adolescents with chronic asthma. One study also included 224 children.

The Cochrane reviewers found no significant reduction in the number of asthma exacerbations that required hospitalization among the patients who used single inhaler therapy.

It was remarked by Cates that one benefit of combined inhalers is that inhaled corticosteroids can be administered on an automatic basis with the beta-agonist when it comes to relieving symptoms.

Last September 29, 2009, at the recent Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) board meeting, held in Louisville, Kentucky, issues such as the consumption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and how they may affect pre-race exams by regulatory veterinarians were tackled.

The board of directors has accredited the formation of a committee to supervise the implementation of the Drug Testing Initiative (DTI) Task Force recommendations on quality assurance and laboratory accreditation programs for U.S. horse racing drug-testing laboratories.

Dr. Tom David of the Louisiana State Racing Commission and chairman of the ARCI Racing Regulatory Veterinarian Committee explained the examining veterinarian’s interest over current NSAID and corticosteroid policies. RMTC Scientific Advisory Committee was previously appointed with the job of reexamining all existing research on NSAIDs, particularly phenylbutazone.

The RMTC Scientific Advisory Committee has noted different options for consideration in future recommendations on the administration times and threshold concentrations for NSAIDs.

The RMTC previously announced that it was carrying out research on corticosteroids commonly used in racing and the board was updated on the status of that project. A copy of Dr. Soma’s study and Dr. David’s remarks can be found at the RMTC website.

From Harness Link:

At the board meeting, other integrity issues were also discussed in depth, including the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and how they may affect pre-race examinations by regulatory veterinarians. Dr. Tom David of the Louisiana State Racing Commission and chairman of the ARCI Racing Regulatory Veterinarian Committee explained the examining veterinarian’s concern over current NSAID and corticosteroid policies.