Corticosteroids are any steroid hormones made in the adrenal cortex (the outer part of the adrenal gland). They are also made in the laboratory. Corticosteroids have many different effects in the body, and are used to treat many different conditions. They may be used as hormone replacement, to suppress the immune system, and to treat some side effects of cancer and its treatment. Corticosteroids are also used to treat certain lymphomas and lymphoid leukemias.
Chronic stress is a well-known cause for mental health disorders. New research has moved a step forward in understanding how glucocorticoid hormones ('stress hormones') act upon the brain and what their function is.
Scientists from Emory Health Sciences have been observing an intense stimulation of immune cells in severe cases of COVID-19 disease. This activation of immune cells is similar to acute flares of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)—an autoimmune disease.
In May 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a gene replacement therapy for the inherited, progressive neuromuscular disease 5q-linked spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).