Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0338671 (Steroids)
 9,479 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The correct drug treatment of JRA must consider the course and the subtype of the disease. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs are the first choice treatment, especially the recent ones which are more active and less toxic. The slow-acting antirheumatic drugs are the second choice treatment and must be employed in the chronically active stages of the disease; good results have been obtained with sulphasalazine and methotrexate both on clinical features and on blood biochemistry with relatively scarce side effects. Thymic hormones, cyclosporin A and intravenous immunoglobulins, though not yet widely experienced, can represent a worthwhile alternative to standard treatment in carefully selected cases. Steroids must be used only in special cases (particularly aggressive systemic JRA, carditis, severe anemia and those patients who fail to respond to usual treatments) and must be withdrawn as soon as possible to avoid adverse effects and steroid-addiction. Intraarticular long-acting steroids are the first choice treatment for rheumatoid monoarthritis.
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PMID:[Therapy of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis]. 137 72

During adolescence, addition per se is not a major issue. Drug use is either a physiological experience or a symptom related to psychopathological condition and other forms of psychic suffering. The most relevant parameters predictive of poor outcome are the precocity of the first experiences, the auto-therapeutic use, the repetition of drug intake, and the various types of individual and social vulnerability. Assimilated to addiction, some inappropriate and compulsive ways to modify body shape (dieting, and anabolic steroid abuse) are seen in teenagers although they are difficult to identify. Prevention and treatment in youths requires a pragmatic attitude from the adults, avoiding minimisation or dramatization of drug use and its consequences. Particular attention has to be paid on the detection of underlying psychiatric disorders. Treatment of problematic drug abuse in adolescents is based on both contextual interventions including systematic support of the families and a multidisciplinary approach.
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PMID:[Substance abuse in adolescents]. 1292 Sep 40

Are androgens reinforcing? Androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS) are drugs of abuse. They are taken in large quantities by athletes and others to increase performance, often with negative long-term health consequences. As a result, in 1991, testosterone was declared a controlled substance. Recently, Brower [K.J. Brower, Anabolic steroid abuse and dependence. Curr. Psychiatry Rep. 4 (2002) 377-387.] proposed a two-stage model of AAS dependence. Users initiate steroid use for their anabolic effects on muscle growth. With continued exposure, dependence on the psychoactive effects of AAS develops. However, it is difficult in humans to separate direct psychoactive effects of AAS from the user's psychological dependence on the anabolic effects of AAS. Thus, studies in laboratory animals are useful to explore androgen reinforcement. Testosterone induces a conditioned place preference in rats and mice, and is voluntarily consumed through oral, intravenous, and intracerebroventricular self-administration in hamsters. Active, gonad-intact male and female hamsters will deliver 1 microg/microl testosterone into the lateral ventricles. Indeed, some individuals self-administer testosterone intracerebroventricularly to the point of death. Male rats develop a conditioned place preference to testosterone injections into the nucleus accumbens, an effect blocked by dopamine receptor antagonists. These data suggest that androgen reinforcement is mediated by the brain. Moreover, testosterone appears to act through the mesolimbic dopamine system, a common substrate for drugs of abuse. Nonetheless, androgen reinforcement is not comparable to that of cocaine or heroin. Instead, testosterone resembles other mild reinforcers, such as caffeine, nicotine, or benzodiazepines. The potential for androgen addiction remains to be determined.
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PMID:Reinforcing aspects of androgens. 1548 45

Traditionally the doping debate has been dominated by those who want to see doping forbidden (the prohibitionist view) and those who want to see it permitted (the ban abolitionist view). In this article, the authors analyse a third position starting from the assertion that doping use is a symptom of the paradigm of highly competitive elite sports, in the same way as addictions reflect current social paradigms in wider society. Based upon a conceptual distinction between occasional use, habitual use and addiction, and focusing on the physical and/or mental dependency caused by the addictive use of a certain drug, we argue that marihuana, stimulants and anabolic steroid abuse--the most frequently detected substances in doping tests--satisfies at least one, often both, of these conditions. A conclusion to be drawn from the authors' arguments is that the prohibitionist view is inappropriate for dealing with doping, as the severe sanctions attached to it will cut the doper off her/his social and professional environment, thereby risking reinforcing her/his addictive conduct. But the ban abolitionist view seems inappropriate as well. At first sight, it seems neither rational nor humane not to intervene when confronted with conduct which is highly harmful for the individual and upon which she has reduced or no control whatsoever. Instead the authors' proposal will be to contextualise dopers' conduct within sport healthcare and see it strictly in relation to each athlete's personal background. Developing preventive programmes--implemented through person-tailored counselling and eventually treatment, rather than severe sanctions or the mere lifting of the ban--seems to be a more reasonable, and probably more efficient, way of conducting 'the war against doping'.
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PMID:Addict to win? A different approach to doping. 2096 93

Corticosteroids, one of the most widely prescribed topical drugs, have been used for about six decades till date. However, rampant misuse and abuse down the years has given the drug a bad name. Topical steroid abuse may lead to two major problems which lie at the opposing ends of the psychosomatic spectrum. Topical steroid addiction, a phenomenon that came to be recognized about a decade after the introduction of the molecule is manifested as psychological distress and rebound phenomenon on stoppage of the drug. The rebound phenomenon, which can affect various parts of the body particularly the face and the genitalia has been reported by various names in the literature. TC phobia which lies at the opposite end of the psychiatric spectrum of steroid abuse has been reported particularly among parents of atopic children. Management of both conditions is difficult and frustrating. Psychological counseling and support can be of immense help in both the conditions.
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PMID:Topical corticosteroid addiction and phobia. 2528 51

Androgens are mainly prescribed to treat several diseases caused by testosterone deficiency. However, athletes try to promote muscle growth by manipulating testosterone levels or assuming androgen anabolic steroids (AAS). These substances were originally synthesized to obtain anabolic effects greater than testosterone. Although AAS are rarely prescribed compared to testosterone, their off-label utilization is very wide. Furthermore, combinations of different steroids and doses generally higher than those used in therapy are common. Symptoms of the chronic use of supra-therapeutic doses of AAS include anxiety, depression, aggression, paranoia, distractibility, confusion, amnesia. Interestingly, some studies have shown that AAS elicited electroencephalographic changes similar to those observed with amphetamine abuse. The frequency of side effects is higher among AAS abusers, with psychiatric complications such as labile mood, lack of impulse control and high violence. On the other hand, AAS addiction studies are complex because data collection is very difficult due to the subjects' reticence and can be biased by many variables, including physical exercise, that alter the reward system. Moreover, it has been reported that AAS may imbalance neurotransmitter systems involved in the reward process, leading to increased sensitivity toward opioid narcotics and central stimulants. The goal of this article is to review the literature on steroid abuse and changes to the reward system in preclinical and clinical studies.
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PMID:Effects of anabolic-androgens on brain reward function. 2637 84

A series of steroids present in the brain have been named "neurosteroids" following the possibility of their role in the central nervous system impairments such as anxiety disorders, depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), addiction, or even neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Study of their potential role requires a sensitive and accurate assay of their concentration in the monkey brain, the closest model to the human. We have thus developed a robust, precise and accurate liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the assay of pregnenolone, pregnanolone, epipregnanolone, allopregnanolone, epiallopregnanolone, and androsterone in the cynomolgus monkey brain. The extraction method includes a thorough sample cleanup using protein precipitation and phospholipid removal, followed by hexane liquid-liquid extraction and a Girard T ketone-specific derivatization. This method opens the possibility of investigating the potential implication of these six steroids in the most suitable animal model for neurosteroid-related research.
Steroids 2016 09
PMID:Precise and accurate assay of pregnenolone and five other neurosteroids in monkey brain tissue by LC-MS/MS. 2737 57