QUESTION Some of my pregnant patients have been prescribed various potencies of topical corticosteroids. Do these carry the same fetal risks as systemic corticosteroids? ANSWER Pregnant women can be reassured that there is no apparent increased risk of adverse fetal effects when using topical corticosteroids during pregnancy, although some data do suggest fetal growth restriction with more po...

Stress and corticosteroid hormones are known to affect learning and memory processes. In this study, we examined whether stress and corticosteroids are capable of facilitating the switch between multiple memory systems in mice. For this purpose, we designed a task that allowed measurement of nucleus caudate-based stimulus-response and hippocampus-based spatial learning strategies. Naive mice us...

Plasma, whole blood, and urinary histamine levels have been determined in 64 normal subjects, in 10 patients with severe asthma, and in 10 control patients with other illnesses. The mean whole blood levels did not differ between the three groups. The mean plasma level in the asthmatics was significantly greater than that of the normal subjects but not of the control patients. The urinary histam...

OBJECTIVE To determine the comparative effectiveness and safety of current maintenance strategies in preventing exacerbations of asthma. DESIGN Systematic review and network meta-analysis using Bayesian statistics. DATA SOURCES Cochrane systematic reviews on chronic asthma, complemented by an updated search when appropriate. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA TRIALS OF Adults with asthma randomised to ma...

Environments experienced by organisms during early development shape the character and timing of developmental processes, leading to different probabilities of survival in the developmental habitat, and often profound effects on phenotypic expression later in life. Amphibian larvae have immense capacity for plasticity in behavior, morphology, growth and development rate. This creates the potent...

In Paper II of this series (1) we described the isolation from adrenal extracts of four crystalline, nitrogen-free compounds, which were found to be physiologically inactive when tested on the adrenalectomized dog. Three of these compounds, besides others not encountered by us, have meanwhile been obtained independently by Reichstein (2) ;I the fourth is apparently identical with the substance ...

Plasma levels of progesterone and corticoids were determined in eight sows prior to, during and following parturition. A statistically significant diurnal variation was observed with morning samples having a higher level of corticoids. Progesterone levels decreased through the last day of gestation to a low level at day 1 postpartum. Mean corticoid levels increased during the last 24-hr. prepar...

It is now 13 years since we and others described results from protocolised assessment of patients seen in specialist centres because of lack of control of their asthma with high dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus additional controller (usually long acting beta agonists; LABA), or those requiring long term oral steroids to control the disease [2, 3]. In that time data have confirmed the use...

C, 'orticosteroids are of enormous value in the suppression of the ocular inflammatory reaction to various injurious agents. The administration of corticosteroids alters the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, as well as affecting almost all other endocrine secretions, salt and water balance, and a large number of enzymatic reactions. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that c...