Prednisolone

Prednisolone is a steroid medication used to treat certain types of allergies, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune disorders, and cancers. Some of these conditions include adrenocortical insufficiency, high blood calcium, rheumatoid arthritis, dermatitis, eye inflammation, asthma, and multiple sclerosis. It is used by mouth, injection into a vein, as a skin cream, and as eye drops. Prednisolone is a steroid medication used to treat certain types of allergies, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune disorders, and cancers. Some of these conditions include adrenocortical insufficiency, high blood calcium, rheumatoid arthritis, dermatitis, eye inflammation, asthma, and multiple sclerosis. It is used by mouth, injection into a vein, as a skin cream, and as eye drops. Side effects with short term use include nausea and feeling tired. More severe side effects include psychiatric problems, which may occur in about 5% of people. Common side effects with long term use include bone loss, weakness, yeast infections, and easy bruising. While short term use in the later part of pregnancy is safe, long term use or use in early pregnancy is occasionally associated with harm to the baby. It is a glucocorticoid made from hydrocortisone (cortisol). Prednisolone was discovered and approved for medical use in 1955. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. It is available as a generic medication. The wholesale cost in the developing world is about US$0.01 per 5 mg tablet. In 2016, it was the 136th most prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 4 million prescriptions. Prednisolone is a corticosteroid drug with predominant glucocorticoid and low mineralocorticoid activity, making it useful for the treatment of a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions such as asthma, uveitis, pyoderma gangrenosum, rheumatoid arthritis, urticaria, angioedema, ulcerative colitis, pericarditis, temporal arteritis and Crohn's disease, Bell's palsy, multiple sclerosis, cluster headaches, vasculitis, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and autoimmune hepatitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Kawasaki disease, dermatomyositis, and sarcoidosis. Prednisolone acetate ophthalmic suspension (eye drops) is an adrenocortical steroid product, prepared as a sterile ophthalmic suspension and used to reduce swelling, redness, itching, and allergic reactions affecting the eye. It has been explored as a treatment option for bacterial keratitis. Prednisolone can also be used for allergic reactions ranging from seasonal allergies to drug allergic reactions. Prednisolone can also be used as an immunosuppressive drug for organ transplants. Prednisolone in lower doses can be used in cases of primary adrenal insufficiency (Addison's disease). Corticosteroids inhibit the inflammatory response to a variety of inciting agents and, it is presumed, delay or slow healing. They inhibit the edema, fibrin deposition, capillary dilation, leukocyte migration, capillary proliferation, fibroblast proliferation, deposition of collagen, and scar formation with inflammation.