A study published on bmj.com has reported that a single corticosteroid drug dose along with antibiotics could be used to alleviate pain besides proving itself as a better treatment option than the use of antibiotics alone. This study, however, was silent about similar benefits for children with sore throat.
Dr Matthew Thompson at the University of Oxford and collaborators expected the premise that corticosteroids could successfully ease sore throat symptoms due to their anti-inflammatory effects.
The results of eight trials were analyzed. They compared corticosteroids to placebo in adults or children. Overall, 743 patients were involved in the trial, including 369 children and 374 adults. They all had symptoms of severe sore throat.
In order to reduce partiality, variations in study feature and quality were considered.
Results showed patients given corticosteroids together with antibiotics were three times more likely to report total clearing up of pain after 24 hours than patients given placebo. After 48 hours the effect on pain was less evident. According to the authors, this indicates that a single dose of corticosteroids may be sufficient.
In addition, corticosteroids reduced the average time to pain relief by about six hours. But, the researchers specify that considerable effects were observed only in adult patients and only in those receiving oral corticosteroids. After assessing the trials, it was apparent that the use of simple painkillers made no difference.
The authors explain: “These findings suggest that, in patients with severe sore throat, pain can be reduced and resolution hastened by use of corticosteroids in conjunction with antibiotic therapy.” They write in conclusion: “These results may also help to prevent antibiotic use, particularly in the context of delayed prescribing. Future research should focus on the effect of corticosteroids independent of antibiotics.”
The associated editorial said steroidscould reduce pain in the first day but cautioned about absence of information on the possible harmful effects.
Individuals suffering from mild, persistent asthma and being administered with twice-daily use of inhaled steroids are likely to make lesser use of inhalers or find it easy to switch to a new pill.
It was remarked by Stephen P. Peters, M.D., Ph.D., lead author and a professor of pediatrics, internal medicine-pulmonary and associate director of the Center for Human Genomics, that this is good news for asthmatic patients because it offers them more choices in terms of asthma management.
The study, involving 500 children and adults with mild asthma, was conducted by the American Lung Association’s Asthma Clinical Research Centers. Its goal was to determine if patients whose symptoms are well controlled on twice daily inhaled corticosteroid can “step down” their medication use. The results are reported in the May 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Asthma is considered mild, but persistent, when symptoms occur more than two times a week or cause the patient to awaken during the night more than twice a month. The standard treatment for mild-persistent asthma is twice-daily use of an inhaled steroid to prevent symptoms. Patients may also take additional drugs such as the inhaler albuterol, known as “rescue” therapy, to treat symptoms. A majority of people with asthma have mild disease, according to Peters.
The study involved patients whose asthma was treated with twice-daily inhaled fluticasone propionate (Flovent Discus), a commonly prescribed synthetic steroid. This drug is designed to suppress inflammation within the airways that can cause narrowing.
It was further remarked by Peters that asthmatic patients treated with twice a day inhaled corticosteroid doses and seeking other options must talk to their doctors before finalizing a decision.
Injecting a corticosteroid, triamcinolone, directly into the eye may slow the progression of proliferative diabetic retinopathy that is a complication of diabetes that results in blindness, according to researchers led by specialists at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute.
It was remarked that steroidsmay increase the risk of glaucoma and cataract and laser photocoagulation is the best treatment option till the time a new option is discovered, which has the good effects of steroids, minus the damage.
“Steroid treatment worked, but because of safety issues, cannot be recommended routinely at this time,” says Neil M. Bressler, the James P. Gills Professor of Ophthalmology and chief of the Retina Division of the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, chair of the government-sponsored Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network. “It is a condition that can be treated safely and effectively with lasers.”
The study, published in the December issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology, described and compared one of two treatments on 840 eyes from 693 men and women between July 2004 and May 2006. The subjects, about evenly divided between men and women with an average age of 63, had diabetic retinopathy with macular edema, a swelling of the central portion of the retina that’s caused by leakage of fluid.
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is marked by the growth of new and unwanted blood vessels on the optic nerve in the back of the eye (which communicates information from the retina to the brain) or another area of the retina, the light-sensitive part of the eye. Despite advances in treating both diabetes and its complications, about 700,000 Americans have proliferative diabetic retinopathy and 63,000 new cases develop each year.
According to Bressler, lead author of the study, some evidences were found suggesting that steroids may possibly improve vision outcomes from diabetic macular edema (DME).
According to a new study on early steroid withdrawal following transplantation of liver, there is a reduced risk of glucose intolerance and an increased incidence of rejection that may necessitate the requirement for treatment of diabetes.
The study results on early steroid withdrawal appeared in an issue of Liver Transplantation, which is the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and theInternational Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).
“Although the incidence of acute rejection in the placebo group was increased, it was easily controlled in most of the cases and did not affect long-term graft histology or survival,” the authors note, adding that the increase may ultimately be acceptable if steroids could be eliminated. However, the main goal of steroid elimination is to reduce metabolic complications and this study showed no difference in cholesterol or hypertension, with a trend toward a decreased incidence of diabetes in the placebo group.
The authors conclude: “Indeed, while there are many arguments in favor of corticosteroid withdrawal beyond 3 months posttransplantation, in terms of safety and efficacy, our study demonstrates that earlier withdrawal at day 14 is not completely safe in terms of rejection, but seems efficient in terms of improvement of glucose tolerability,” which could decrease long-term mortality due to cardiovascular disease.
It is important to note here that the first double-blind placebo-controlled study was initiated for ascertaining the effects of early steroid withdrawal to ensure that all medical practitioners are on the same knowledge platform.
A study published on bmj.com has reported that a single corticosteroid drug dose along with antibiotics could be used to alleviate pain besides proving itself as a better treatment option than the use of antibiotics alone. This study, however, was silent about similar benefits for children with sore throat.
Individuals suffering from mild, persistent asthma and being administered with twice-daily use of inhaled 
Injecting a corticosteroid, triamcinolone, directly into the eye may slow the progression of proliferative diabetic retinopathy that is a complication of diabetes that results in blindness, according to researchers led by specialists at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute.
According to a new study on early 