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M. Jyoshna*1, P. Venkatesh2, M. Sri Bhagya chandana3
1-3Department of Pharmacy, Jagans Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jangala Kandriga, Nellore, A.P.
A B S T R A C T
Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones released by the adrenal cortex, which includes glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids. However, the term “corticosteroids” is generally used to refer to glucocorticoids. Named for their effect in carbohydrate metabolism, glucocorticoids regulate diverse cellular functions including development, homeostasis, metabolism, cognition and inflammation2. Due to their profound immunomodulatory actions, glucocorticoids are one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the world and the worldwide market for glucocorticoids is estimated to be worth more than USD 10 billion per year. Glucocorticoids have become a clinical mainstay for the treatment of numerous inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as asthma, allergy, septic shock rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis. These side effects include osteoporosis, skin atrophy, diabetes, abdominal obesity, glaucoma, cataracts, avascular necrosis and infection, growth retardation, and hypertension. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the physiological and pharmacological actions of glucocorticoids is of great importance as it may aid in developing synthetic glucocorticoids with increased tissue selectivity, which can thereby minimize the side effects by dissociating the desired anti-inflammatory functions from undesirable adverse outcomes.
Keywords: Glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids. abdominal obesity, glaucoma, cataracts, side effects.
