https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A study led by Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) member Jason Ridlon, associate professor of animal sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), has revealed that bacteria in the urinary tract can turn corticosteroids into androgens—hormones that help prostate cancer grow. The research is published in Nature Microbiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-urinary-bacteria-prostate-cancer-hormone.html Tue, 03 Jun 2025 13:26:04 EDT news668175962 Prednisone is recommended as the first-line treatment for pulmonary sarcoidosis, but this steroid causes a number of unwanted side effects. Now new research, published at the ATS 2025 International Conference and in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, finds that methotrexate provides a comparable alternative. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-methotrexate-effective-prednisone-pulmonary-sarcoidosis.html Sun, 18 May 2025 12:20:03 EDT news666604022 A research team, delving into the impact of excessive prenatal prednisone exposure (PPE) on fetal development, discovered that PPE leads to chondrodysplasia in female offspring and enhances their susceptibility to osteoarthritis (OA) in adulthood. The study also proposes that early targeting of PGC-1α could be a potential interventional strategy for PPE-induced OA susceptibility. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-excessive-prenatal-prednisone-exposure-chondrodysplasia.html Mon, 30 Sep 2024 11:18:03 EDT news646913881 A combination therapy improved progression-free survival in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with distinct genetic mutations compared to either therapy alone or sequentially, according to results from a Northwestern Medicine-led multi-center clinical trial published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-combination-treatment-survival-advanced-prostate.html Mon, 09 Sep 2024 13:40:01 EDT news645107772 The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved Akeega (niraparib and abiraterone acetate) for the treatment of BRCA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08-fda-akeega-brca-positive-metastatic-prostate.html Fri, 18 Aug 2023 12:35:02 EDT news611580896 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lynparza (olaparib) with abiraterone and prednisone (or prednisolone) for adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious BRCA-mutated, metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-06-fda-lynparza-brca-mutated-metastatic-castration-resistant.html Wed, 07 Jun 2023 14:40:01 EDT news605364505 Among patients with recurrent implantation failure during in vitro fertilization, treatment with prednisone does not improve the live birth rate versus placebo, according to a study published in the May 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-prednisone-vitro-fertilization-outcomes.html Fri, 05 May 2023 12:42:02 EDT news602509321 For patients with recalcitrant alopecia areata totalis or universalis, methotrexate combined with prednisone yields complete hair regrowth in about 31 percent of patients, according to a study published online March 8 in JAMA Dermatology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-hair-regrowth-alopecia-methotrexate-prednisone.html Wed, 15 Mar 2023 13:50:02 EDT news598105269 For boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), vamorolone, a structurally unique dissociative steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is effective and safe over a 24-week period, according to a study published online Aug. 29 in JAMA Neurology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-vamorolone-effective-safe-boys-duchenne.html Thu, 01 Sep 2022 13:10:05 EDT news581256121 New research published in JAMA recommends daily steroid doses for children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), marking a significant change in how the disease is treated. University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) neurologist Robert Griggs, M.D., and Michela Guglieri, M.D., with Newcastle University in the U.K., led the study, which was conducted by a global team of researchers dedicated to improving care for this fatal disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-daily-steroids-safe-duchenne-muscular.html Wed, 04 May 2022 16:02:36 EDT news570898953 Obese mice that were fed a high-fat diet and that received prednisone one time per week had improved exercise endurance, got stronger, increased their lean body mass and lost weight, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. The mice also had increased muscle metabolism. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-weekly-prednisone-obesity.html Fri, 01 Apr 2022 12:48:28 EDT news568036105 A trio of drugs could delay the progression of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-prostate-cancer-treatment-combination-therapy.html Wed, 03 Nov 2021 16:24:32 EDT news555175467 A Phase 3 clinical trial showed a new medication that interferes with part of the immune system that causes inflammation was more effective than treatment with glucocorticoids ("steroids" such as prednisone) in keeping patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, a disease that causes the destructions of the body's small blood vessels, in remission for a year. The researchers behind the trial believe that a treatment approach that avoids the use of prednisone might significantly reduce many side effects patients experience. These results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine today. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-medication-patients-anca-associated-vasculitis-remission.html Wed, 17 Feb 2021 17:00:02 EST news532786253 A drug commonly used to treat both asthma and inflammatory bowel disease, budesonide, may also be useful as an anti-organ rejection medication for liver transplant patients leading to fewer serious side effects than the most commonly used therapy, according to a University of Cincinnati researcher. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-11-option-liver-transplant-patients.html Fri, 08 Nov 2019 12:25:31 EST news492438325 Myelofibrosis is a severe and very rare haematological disease for which treatment has only been partially effective to date. Its low incidence rate is one of the reasons why effective therapies are still lacking. The H12O-CNIO Haematological Malignancies Clinical Research Unit at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) has now reported substantial improvement in the treatment of myelofibrosis using a three-drug combination therapy. A clinical trial involving patients is already up and running. Findings are published in the journal Haematologica https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-potential-combination-therapy-rare-disease.html Wed, 19 Dec 2018 07:40:01 EST news464427408 A head-to-head trial comparing the decades-old steroid, prednisone, and a promising new steroid, vamorolone, finds both act on the same key set of genetic pathways involved in controlling inflammation, indicates a new study led by Children's National Health System researchers. However, the study suggests the new investigational steroid doesn't activate several additional pathways involved in prednisone's bevy of undesirable side effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-09-steroid-mirrors-prednisone-benefits-side.html Thu, 20 Sep 2018 14:53:05 EDT news456673975 A phase 3 clinical trial has confirmed that regular treatment with tocilizumab, an inhibitor of interleukin-6, successfully reduced both symptoms of and the need for high-dose steroid treatment for giant cell arteritis, the most common form of blood-vessel inflammation. Results of the trial are being published in the New England Journal of Medicine and were the basis for the Food and Drug Administration's approval of tocilizumab to treat giant cell arteritis in May. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-07-phase-trial-superiority-tocilizumab-steroids.html Wed, 26 Jul 2017 17:00:02 EDT news420288070 A new study of gene transfer using adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene delivery into skeletal muscle of rhesus macaques showed that oral prednisone reduced immune responses to AAV that can weaken expression of the therapeutic transgene over time. Animals given prednisone before the gene therapy had a 60% decrease in immune cell infiltrates, mainly comprised of cytotoxic T cells, according to the study published in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Human Gene Therapy website until July 9, 2017. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-06-prednisone-effectiveness-aav-based-gene-therapy.html Fri, 09 Jun 2017 13:25:04 EDT news416233492 Weekly doses of glucocorticoid steroids, such as prednisone, help speed recovery in muscle injuries, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. The weekly steroids also repaired muscles damaged by muscular dystrophy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-05-weekly-steroids-muscles.html Tue, 16 May 2017 15:50:01 EDT news414168379 Despite standard use for the itching associated with urticaria (commonly known as hives), prednisone (a steroid) offered no additional relief to emergency patients suffering from hives than a placebo did, according to a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study published online yesterday in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("Levocetirizine and Prednisone Are Not Superior to Levocetirizine Alone for the Treatment of Acute Urticaria: A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial"). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-05-hives-steroids.html Wed, 03 May 2017 11:28:28 EDT news413029648 (HealthDay)—For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), prednisone use is associated with an increased risk of mortality, according to a study published in the May issue of Arthritis Care & Research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-05-prednisone-linked-mortality-ra.html Fri, 27 May 2016 15:50:01 EDT news383580553 Adults with asthma who were treated with one-dose dexamethasone in the emergency department had only slightly higher relapse than patients who were treated with a 5-day course of prednisone. "Enhanced compliance and convenience may support the use of dexamethasone" is the conclusion of a study that was published online Friday in Annals of Emergency Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-04-dexamethasone-asthma-er-compliance-equal.html Wed, 27 Apr 2016 12:24:49 EDT news380978679 Abiraterone acetate, a recently FDA-approved drug used to treat men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, significantly delays progression of pain and quality of life deterioration when taken in conjunction with prednisone. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-09-abiraterone-acetate-quality-life-decline.html Tue, 24 Sep 2013 18:55:40 EDT news299267728 A trace substance in caramelized sugar, when purified and given in appropriate doses, improves muscle regeneration in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The findings are published today, Aug. 1, in the journal Skeletal Muscle. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-08-burnt-sugar-derivative-muscle-mouse.html Thu, 01 Aug 2013 18:01:23 EDT news294598869 Abiraterone acetate (abiraterone for short, trade name: Zytiga) has been approved in Germany since December 2012 for men with metastatic prostate cancer that is not responsive to hormone blockade, who only have mild symptoms or so far none at all, and in whom chemotherapy is not yet indicated. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether abiraterone offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-07-abiraterone-hint-considerable-added-benefit.html Tue, 02 Jul 2013 10:01:56 EDT news291978106 Among patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requiring hospital admission, a 5-day glucocorticoid treatment course was non-inferior (not worse than) to a 14-day course with regard to re-exacerbation during 6 months of follow-up, according to a study published online by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American Thoracic Society international conference. The authors write that these findings support a shorter-course glucocorticoid treatment regimen, which would reduce glucocorticoid exposure and the risk of possible adverse effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-shorter-duration-steroid-therapy-similar.html Tue, 21 May 2013 15:18:08 EDT news288368280 As part of an EU-supported IMI-PREDECT consortium (http://www.predect.eu), a Dutch study showed that anti-androgenic properties of the drug abiraterone may provide an additional mechanism of action in blocking tumour growth of castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-additional-role-abiraterone-blocking-tumor.html Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:00:02 EDT news282499173 (HealthDay)—For chemotherapy-naive patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, abiraterone acetate correlates with improved radiographic progression-free survival, according to a study published online Dec. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent approval for expanded use of the drug. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-abiraterone-benefits-chemo-naive-advanced-prostate.html Wed, 12 Dec 2012 06:00:01 EST news274510696 (HealthDay)—The approved use of the drug Zytiga has been expanded to include treatment of men with late-stage, hormone therapy-resistant prostate cancer before they undergo chemotherapy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Monday. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-fda-oks-prostate-cancer-drug.html Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:20:04 EST news274379071 Results of a phase 3 trial published in The Lancet Oncology have confirmed that the drug abiraterone acetate (marketed as Zytiga) offers a significant survival benefit to patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, which is spreading to other parts of their body (known as metastatic prostate cancer). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-phase-trial-abiraterone-acetate-efficacy.html Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:30:08 EDT news267099053