CORTICOSTEROIDS -
Noun: A group of steroids, many of them hormones, which are produced by the adrenal cortex glands of the body, which improve metabolism and help with stress. Some break down proteins and prevent infection. Given in high doses, a corticosteroid drug such as Prednisolone , reduces inflammation that ALG treatment may cause, by blocking the action of chemicals called " prostaglandins " that are responsible for triggering the inflammatory response.

A corticosteroid drug may also act on the brain to produce a heightened sense of well-being and happiness. In some people, it can cause the opposite condition. Long-term use of corticosteroids suppresses the production of the body's own corticosteroid hormones. For this reason, treatment that lasts for more than a few weeks must be withdrawn gradually to give your body a chance to adjust and start producing it's own. If the drug is stopped abruptly, the lack of corticosteroid hormones may lead to a sudden emotional collapse. This is temporary as the adrenal glands soon begins producing it again.

Use of this drug in standard doses eases the side effects of the ALG treatment but they do not have any effect on the aplastic anaemia or myelodysplasia .

Patients with aplastic anaemia are particularly vulnerable to damage to large joints which may result from steroid treatment.

Latin - corticis = bark +

English - ster(ol) = one of a group of solid alcohols such as cholesterol, present in animal and plant tissue +

Greek - oeides = in the form of

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