Researchers at the UT Southwestern Medical Center have revealed the biological rationale as to why large doses of corticosteroids (steroids) administered over several weeks could help lupus patients stay close to relief.
Lupus is a severe health complication, classified as a chronic inflammatory disease, which affects more than 1 million people in the United States alone.
From News-Medical.Net:
Unlike the anabolic steroids athletes sometimes use illegally to bulk up muscle, corticosteroids are routinely used to treat inflammation in lupus patients. The drugs, however, can cause undesirable side effects including weight gain and acne when taken over long periods of time.
In a study published in a recent issue of Nature, researchers at UT Southwestern and other institutions show in blood cells that giving very high doses of intravenous corticosteroids early and frequently in the course of the disease is more effective at killing the cells that drive lupus than giving the standard limited intravenous steroids followed by high doses of oral corticosteroids over a period of months. The cells used came from lupus patients as well as from animal models of lupus.
Dr. Marilynn Punaro, professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern and co-author of the study, said that administration of high-dose steroids in the initial stage and regularly can help in avoiding use of too much of steroids in the long run.
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