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:: What is... Cortisone? Cortisone is a steroid hormone. Chemically, it is a corticosteroid closely related to corticosterone. Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. Corticosteroids are involved in a wide range of physiologic systems such as stress response, immune response and regulation of inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism, protein catabolism, blood electrolyte levels, and behavior.
Some common
natural hormones are corticosterone (C21H30O4), cortisone (C21H28O5,
17-hydroxy-11-dehydrocorticosterone) and aldosterone. :: Effects | Synthesis | Uses Cortisol and adrenaline are the main hormones released by the body as a reaction to stress. They elevate blood pressure and prepare the body for a fight or flight response. Cortisone is sometimes used as a drug to treat a variety of ailments. It can be administered intravenously or cutaneously. One of cortisone's effects on the body, and a potentially harmful side effect when administered clinically, is the suppression of the immune system. This could be the explanation for the apparent correlation between high stress and sickness. The suppression of the immune system may be important in the treatment of inflammatory conditions such as severe IgE-mediated allergies. Cortisone is less important than a similar steroid cortisol. Cortisol is responsible for 95% of the effects of the glucocorticosteroids while cortisone is about 4 or 5%. Corticosterone is even less important. Cortisone shots also may leave "dents" in the injection area, in some cases. The corticosteroids are synthesized from cholesterol within the adrenal cortex. Synthetic drugs with corticosteroid-like effect are used in a variety of conditions, ranging from brain tumors to skin diseases. Dexamethasone and its derivatives are almost pure glucocorticoids, while prednisone and its derivatives have some mineralocorticoid action in addition to the glucocorticoid effect. Fludrocortisone (Florinef®) is a synthetic mineralocorticoid. Hydrocortisone (cortisol) is available for replacement therapy, e.g. in adrenal insufficiency and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Synthetic glucocorticoids are used in the treatment of joint pain or inflammation (arthritis), temporal arteritis, dermatitis, allergic reactions, asthma, hepatitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease), sarcoidosis and for glucocorticoid replacement in Addison's disease or other forms of adrenal insufficiency. Topical formulations for treatment of skin, eye diseases (uveitis) or inflammatory bowel disease are available. Corticosteroids are also used supportively to prevent nausea, often in combination with 5-HT3 antagonists (e.g. ondansetron). Typical undesired effects of glucocorticoids present quite uniformly as drug-induced Cushing's syndrome. Typical mineralocorticoid side effects are hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure), hypokalemia (low potassium levels in the blood), hypernatremia (high sodium levels in the blood) without causing peripheral edema, metabolic alkalosis and connective tissue weakness (Werner, 2005). Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that corticosteroids can cause permanent eye damage by inducing central serous retinopathy (CSR, also known as central serous chorioretinopathy, CSC). A variety of steroid medications, from anti-allergy nasal sprays (Nasonex, Flonase) to topical skin creams, to eye drops (Tobradex), to Prednisone have been implicated in the development of CSR. :: History Cortisone was first discovered by the American chemist Edward Calvin Kendall while a researcher at the Mayo Clinic. He won the 1950 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine along with Philip S. Hench and Tadeus Reichstein for the discovery of adrenal cortex hormones, their structures, and functions. Cortisone was first produced commercially by Merck & Co. under the leadership of George W. Merck. This text is part of the information available on wikipedia.com
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