Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Corticosteroid Therapy

Corticosteroid therapy is the clinical use of synthetic or natural glucocorticoid hormones to suppress inflammation and modulate immune activity across a broad range of diseases. These agents act by binding intracellular glucocorticoid receptors and altering gene expression, which reduces the production of pro-infla…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 10 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 44× across the literature 🗓 Reviewed June 2026

Overview

Corticosteroid therapy is the clinical use of synthetic or natural glucocorticoid hormones to suppress inflammation and modulate immune activity across a broad range of diseases. These agents act by binding intracellular glucocorticoid receptors and altering gene expression, which reduces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators, dampens the activity and migration of immune cells, and exerts immunosuppressive effects. Because of this dual anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory action, corticosteroids are used to control inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, allergic and respiratory disorders, ocular inflammatory disease, hematologic conditions such as immune thrombocytopenia, certain neurological inflammatory syndromes, and severe inflammatory responses including those following infection. They may be administered through systemic routes or delivered locally, and dosing strategies range from low maintenance regimens to high-dose pulse therapy used in refractory or severe disease. Therapeutic decisions weigh timing, with early versus delayed initiation influencing outcomes in some immune-mediated conditions, against the substantial risks of prolonged exposure. Adverse effects include increased susceptibility to infection, metabolic and endocrine disturbances, bone loss, and other complications, and immunosuppression can predispose to opportunistic infections. Research surrounding corticosteroid therapy addresses optimal indications, dosing and duration, comparisons with other immunomodulatory agents, and the balance between controlling damaging inflammation and minimizing harm. As a mainstay of anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive treatment, corticosteroid therapy remains central to the management of immune-mediated and inflammatory disease.

Research published in this journal

10 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 10 articles above have been cited 44 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Corticosteroid Therapy, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in International Journal of Inflammation Research.

Journal editorial board
Thomas Boldicke · Germany Graziella Curtale · Italy Frederic Velard · France

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.