Is there today a place for corticosteroids in the treatment of scleroderma?

Jelena Blagojevic; Paul Legendre; Marco Matucci-Cerinic; Luc Mouthon

doi:10.1016/j.autrev.2019.102403

Is there today a place for corticosteroids in the treatment of scleroderma?

Autoimmun Rev. 2019 Dec;18(12):102403. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2019.102403. Epub 2019 Oct 19.

Authors

Jelena Blagojevic¹, Paul Legendre², Marco Matucci-Cerinic³, Luc Mouthon⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence and Division of Rheumatology AOUC, Florence, Italy. Electronic address: jelena308@hotmail.com.
² Service de Médecine Interne, Hôpital Cochin, Centre de Référence National pour les Maladies Systémiques Autoimmunes Rares, DHU Authors, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France.
³ Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence and Division of Rheumatology AOUC, Florence, Italy.
⁴ Service de Médecine Interne, Hôpital Cochin, Centre de Référence National pour les Maladies Systémiques Autoimmunes Rares, DHU Authors, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France; Institut Cochin, INSERM U1016, CNRS UMR 8104, Université Paris Descartes, France.

PMID: 31639515
DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2019.102403

Abstract

In systemic sclerosis (SSc), the use of corticosteroids (CS) is controversial due to their association with scleroderma renal crisis (SRC). However, patients with very early and early disease, characterised by main inflammatory component, may benefit from CS therapy. The aim of this review is to discuss pros and cons of CS treatment in SSc, providing current evidence about the use of CS in SSc. Moreover, we discuss also the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms that may be the background for the potential harms and efficacy of CS in SSc.

Keywords: Corticosteroids; Efficacy; Risk; Systemic sclerosis.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adrenal Cortex Hormones / adverse effects*
Humans
Kidney Diseases / etiology
Scleroderma, Systemic / complications
Scleroderma, Systemic / drug therapy*

Substances

Adrenal Cortex Hormones