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Sorry for the ignorant question but you mentioned steroids and immune suppression. Does that imply that steroids suppress the immune system in some way? I’ve t

Sorry for the ignorant question but you mentioned steroids and immune suppression. Does that imply that steroids suppress the immune system in some way? I’ve tried googling but came up empty besides a paper on “ glucocorticoids” which seems to be something to do with cortisol shots for reduced inflammation, which has immune suppression tendencies. Is that what you mean? And if yes, is this for all levels of steroids or just some particular types? (IE steroids in an asthma inhaler vs cortisol shot vs anabolic steroids). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047790/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047790/

JamesBarney 7y ago
Corticosteroids suppress the immune system, as do anabolic steroids, but it's not a property inherent to steroids. For instance estrogen is also a steroid and doesn't suppress the immune system.
vikramkr 7y ago
Yep, corticosteroids are used for immune suppression. That's why they're used in autoimmune conditions https://www.mayoclinic.org/steroids/art-20045692 https://www.mayoclinic.org/steroids/art-20045692
deleted 7y ago
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ebg13 7y ago
> Does that imply that steroids suppress the immune system in some way? Yes. This is the reason why they're used in the first place. > steroids in an asthma inhaler Yes, but an entire year's worth of asthma inhaler is like one dose of oral prednisone, so the impact is quite low and you should not stop using your inhaler. > cortisol shot Yes. > anabolic steroids Yes.
Reelin 7y ago
Steroids are an entire class of chemicals that have a specific pattern in their structure. Hormones are signalling molecules that get transported throughout your body. Steroid hormones are chemicals that are both a steroid and a hormone. Not all steroids are hormones (ex cholesterol) and not all hormones are steroids. A subgroup of steroid hormones is corticosteroids. A subgroup of corticosteroids is glucocorticoids, (most of?) which exhibit strong effects on the immune system (roughly speaking, they suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation).
- bardworx 7y ago
  Thank you for your comment.

JamesBarney 7y ago

Corticosteroids suppress the immune system, as do anabolic steroids, but it's not a property inherent to steroids. For instance estrogen is also a steroid and doesn't suppress the immune system.

vikramkr 7y ago

Yep, corticosteroids are used for immune suppression. That's why they're used in autoimmune conditions https://www.mayoclinic.org/steroids/art-20045692 https://www.mayoclinic.org/steroids/art-20045692

deleted 7y ago

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ebg13 7y ago

> Does that imply that steroids suppress the immune system in some way? Yes. This is the reason why they're used in the first place. > steroids in an asthma inhaler Yes, but an entire year's worth of asthma inhaler is like one dose of oral prednisone, so the impact is quite low and you should not stop using your inhaler. > cortisol shot Yes. > anabolic steroids Yes.

Reelin 7y ago

Steroids are an entire class of chemicals that have a specific pattern in their structure. Hormones are signalling molecules that get transported throughout your body. Steroid hormones are chemicals that are both a steroid and a hormone. Not all steroids are hormones (ex cholesterol) and not all hormones are steroids. A subgroup of steroid hormones is corticosteroids. A subgroup of corticosteroids is glucocorticoids, (most of?) which exhibit strong effects on the immune system (roughly speaking, they suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation).

bardworx 7y ago
Thank you for your comment.