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Query: UMLS:C0338671 (Steroids)
 9,479 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Steroids are widely used for the treatment of leprosy reactions. The effectiveness of steroid treatment is variable, with only 60% of patients regaining nerve function. Sequential skin biopsy specimens, obtained from 15 patients with type 1 (reversal) reactions, have been studied to document the cytokine profile and cellularity of the lesions. All of the patients were placed on a standard course of steroids after the first biopsy. Subsequent biopsies were performed seven, 28 and 180 days later. The specimens were stained for interferon-gamma (IFN gamma), interleukin-12 (IL-12) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). After the first biopsy, all patients were placed on a standard reducing course of steroids beginning at 30 mg daily. By day 7, treatment with prednisolone showed little effect on the cellularity and cytokine profiles. However, by day 28, significant decreases of IFN-gamma, IL-12 and iNOS were found for most patients. Some patients maintained cytokine production at day 28 and even at day 180. These data illustrate the strong Th1 profile of type 1 reactional lesions, the relatively slow response to therapy, and the continuing activity after treatment with steroids for 180 days. The variation of individual responses emphasizes their importance. Additional prospective studies will be required to determine whether patients with high intra-lesional levels of cytokine are at risk of recurrent reactions. The need for studies both of different glucocorticoids and of other non-steroidal immunosuppressants for the treatment of reactions is discussed.
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PMID:Steroids in leprosy type 1 (reversal) reactions: mechanisms of action and effectiveness. 1120 65

Interleukin (IL) 18, a powerful inducer of the immunoregulatory cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), presents upstream of the cytokine activation cascade in the inflammatory response. The anti-inflammatory properties of steroids permit their use in various conditions, although effects are transient and pathological states are not fully relieved by short-term steroidal use. We examined the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/IL-2 on the cytokine cascade in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We also examined the effect of steroids on LPS/IL-2-induced cytokine production in human PBMCs taken from healthy volunteers. Cell-free supernatant fractions were assayed for IL-18, IL-12, IL-2, IFN-gamma and IL-10 protein, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and synergy between LPS and IL-2 in enhanced production of IL-18 was observed. Steroids suppressed the production of IL-18 and other secondary cytokines in LPS/IL-2-stimulated PBMCs, in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, although inhibition was incomplete even at high concentrations. Effects of steroid treatment on expression of membrane-bound LPS receptor antigen (mCD14) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in PBMCs were studied by flow cytometric analysis. Steroid treatment up-regulated mCD14 expression in a concentration-dependent manner, with no effect on ICAM-1 expression. These results suggest that the incomplete counteraction of steroids in the LPS/IL-2-initiating cytokine cascade is due, at least partly, to the up-regulation of mCD14 by steroid preparations, which increases susceptibility to bacterial endotoxins.
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PMID:Effect of steroids on lipopolysaccharide/interleukin 2-induced interleukin 18 production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. 1202 22

Effects of selected common phytoecdysteroids on immunobiological responses triggered by lipopolysaccharide and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) were tested under in vitro conditions using murine resident peritoneal macrophages. Namely, production of nitric oxide was investigated. The series of test agents encompassed ecdysteroids occurring often as major components of the ecdysteroid fraction in numerous plant extracts: 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), polypodine B, ajugasterone C, ponasterone A and inokosterone. Their structural variability concerns only variation in the number and position of hydroxyls. Two additional side-chain modified ecdysteroids: makisterone A (with a methyl substituent at position 24) and carthamosterone (with a cyclic side-chain lactone), and three ecdysteroid analogs: poststerone, rubrosterone and dihydrorubrosterone (devoid of side chains) were included into the test series. All test compounds, except of ponasterone A, represent natural substances isolated from the medicinal plant Leuzea carthamoides and are supposed to be significant for the often reported pharmacological activities of preparations derived from this species. However, the tested ecdysteroids did not interfere with the immunobiological activity of the immunocompetent cells. Our results thus differ from the so far reported information.
Steroids 2008 Apr
PMID:Lack of interference of common phytoecdysteroids with production of nitric oxide by immune-activated mammalian macrophages. 1824 65