Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0086543 (cataract)
 29,165 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Inhaled corticosteroids are a dramatic advance in the therapy of chronic asthma. Corticosteroid inhalation therapy in children offers the same advantages over oral medication as in adults. Inhaled corticosteroids have better effects compared with other prophylactic antiasthma therapy such as theophylline, sodium cromoglycate and ketotifen. However, it is obvious that inhaled corticosteroids are not completely free of side effects, both topical and systemic such as suppression of HPA, growth retardation, osteoporosis, cataract formation, blood count and immunoglobulin changes, oropharyngeal candidiasis and dysphonia. Recently, many clinicians have been using this effective and save treatment more freely and for longterm administration.
 ...
PMID:Corticosteroid inhalation in the treatment of childhood asthma. 207 73

Inhaled corticosteroids are considered by many to be the anti-inflammatory therapy of choice in adult asthma, given their remarkable efficacy and apparent safety. They are presently being prescribed to more patients, at larger doses, and for longer periods of time than ever before. Oropharyngeal candidiasis and dysphonia are the most commonly recognized adverse effects of therapy, but these topical phenomena cause no significant morbidity and are easily managed. By contrast, there is now increasing concern about the potential systemic effects of inhaled corticosteroids. These putative effects may include adrenal suppression, bone loss, skin thinning, increased cataract formation, decreased linear growth in children, metabolic changes, and behavioral abnormalities. Changes in adrenal function have been noted in patients using medications such as beclomethasone dipropionate and budesonide in doses exceeding 1,500 micrograms/day. The clinical relevance of these changes has yet to be clarified. Several short-term and cross-sectional studies have also revealed changes in biochemical markers of bone turnover and retrospective studies have found reduced bone density in asthmatics treated regularly with inhaled steroids. Long-term prospective studies assessing bone density changes remain to be done. Although much controversy exists, there is no unequivocal evidence that conventional doses of inhaled steroids significantly retard bone growth in children. Reports on skin changes, increased cataract formation, and behavioral changes are difficult to interpret because of several confounding factors. Although inhaled steroids should, at the present time, continue to be a recommended therapeutic option to all patients with symptomatic asthma, they should always be used in the lowest dosage compatible with disease control.
 ...
PMID:Adverse effects of inhaled corticosteroids. 784 37

Data concerning safety of treatment in schoolchildren cannot be extrapolated to preschool children due to differences in growth velocity and metabolism. The safety issue in preschool children is further complicated by insufficient knowledge of the optimal dose, and the lung delivery from the devices available. Systemic activity has often been studied as a marker of adverse clinical effect. However, with improving technology, systemic activity can be detected within the range of the normal biological feedback system, where it is of no clinical importance. Therefore, systemic activity is not synonymous with clinically relevant side-effects. Side-effects should be assessed in specific clinical studies. Effect on growth velocity is a potential side-effect of major interest. Knemometry is a sensitive measure of short-term growth of the lower leg length in schoolchildren as well as in preschool children, which enables precise measurements of systemic activity, but it is not a measure of statural growth. The only clinically relevant outcome measure of human growth is the final height in relation to expected final height, allowing for gender and midparental height differences. In addition to effects on statural height, osteoperosis is an important potential side-effect. The importance of bone density during preschool age for final adult bone mineral density needs to be studied. Cataract formation is a side-effect associated with systemic steroid treatment and may be of special consideration during treatment with nebulized steroids, which may expose the eyes to high doses. Thrush, dysphonia and local skin atrophy in steroid-exposed areas are potential local side-effects, and yet the incidence in young children is unknown and dependent on the device used for delivery. When considering adverse effects of treatment, the risk of side-effects from undertreatment should always be observed.
 ...
PMID:Safety of treatment. 896 15

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways play. Anti-inflammatory drugs the fundamental role in the treatment of asthma and among them steroids are the most important. However, oral steroids may cause many serious side effects. A major breakthrough in the treatment of asthma was introducing inhaled steroids. Inhaled steroids have much less side effects than oral steroids, although they have the same anti-inflammatory activity. Long term effect of inhaled steroids can be divided into wanted and unwanted outcome. The desirable anti-inflammatory effect of steroids is reflected by lowering of bronchial hyperresponsiveness and a better control of asthma symptoms. Inhaled corticosteroid may have systemic side effects similar to those observed with oral steroids such as 1) adrenal suppression, 2) effect on bone metabolism, 3) growth suppression in children, 4) impaired skin collagen synthesis, 5) cataract, 6) metabolic disturbances, 7) effect on central nervous system. Topical side effects of inhaled corticosteroid such as oral candidiasis, dysphonia and cough effect about 10 to 30% of patients taking those drugs. Summing up it is advisable to use inhaled corticosteroid in the lower effective dose.
 ...
PMID:[Longterm effects of steroid therapy]. 961 Feb 31

Current guidelines emphasize the efficacy of inhaled corticosteroids for anti-inflammatory activity in asthma, and recommend higher doses and earlier initiation of therapy than previous guidelines. Concern over possible side effects with long term use has prompted an evaluation of the available literature to determine the optimal dose that may be administered without fear that significant side effects might occur (e.g., growth retardation in children, adrenal suppression, reduction in bone mineral density, cataract formation). Regular treatment with the following drugs in adults and children, respectively, is unlikely to result in any clinically significant effects on the above parameters: beclomethasone dipropionate less than 1500 micrograms and 400 micrograms, budesonide less than 1600 micrograms and 400 micrograms, flunisolide less than 2000 micrograms and 1000 micrograms, fluticasone propionate approximately 500 micrograms and 200 micrograms, and triamcinolone acetonide less than 1600 micrograms and 1200 micrograms. Systemic effects are influenced by potency and bioavailability. Inhaled corticosteroids owe their favourable safety profile to a high topical to systemic potency ratio compared with that of oral corticosteroids. In terms of relative topical potency, fluticasone propionate is more potent than budesonide, which is more potent than beclomethasone dipropionate, which is more potent than flunisolide and triamcinolone acetonide. The delivery device has an important influence on the amount of drug reaching the patient. A spacer device attached to a metered dose inhaler or a Turbuhaler reduces oropharyngeal deposition and increases lung deposition. As a result, a dosage reduction may be possible, and local side effects of dysphonia and oral candidiasis may be reduced. Patients requiring continued high doses by the inhaled route should be monitored for systemic effects and be considered for osteoporosis prevention therapy if appropriate.
 ...
PMID:Comparative efficacy and safety of inhaled corticosteroids in asthma. 1057 61