Charting a Corticosteroid Course: The Benefits and Side Effects of Prednisone and Deflazacort

Corticosteroids (also known as glucocorticoids) that are commonly used to treat neuromuscular disorders include prednisone, prednisolone and deflazacort. All are powerful medications that suppress the immune system and decrease inflammation.

Corticosteroids been used for many years to treat autoimmune disorders in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own tissues. Autoimmune disorders in MDA's program that are treated with corticosteroids include polymyositis, dermatomyositis, inclusion-body myositis, myasthenia gravis and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome 

Corticosteroids also are used to prolong muscle function in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Although they have significant benefits, corticosteroids also have significant side effects. Minimizing the side effects while maximizing the benefits of corticosteroids is a continuing challenge.

Articles in this package include:

• Not Always Smooth Sailing — how to know if you're on the right course with corticosteroids
• War on Weight Gain — ways to minimize this side effect of corticosteroids;
• Nutritional Considerations While on Corticosteroids — healthy eating advice;
• History of Corticosteroids in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy — summary of research on prednisone or prednisolone in DMD from the 1970s through 2006; and
• Coping with Corticosteroids — a young woman with dermatomyositis talks about coping with weight gain and other side effects, and the mother of a young man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy talks about the benefits and side effects of prednisone for her son.