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Psychiatric Effects of Alternate Day Steroid Therapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Christopher Cordess ,
Marshal Folstein  and
Daniel Drachman
Christopher Cordess*
Affiliation:
Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AZ
Marshal Folstein
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, U.S.A.
Daniel Drachman
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, U.S.A.
*
∗Correspondence.
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Summary

The prevalence of emotional disorder in a total of 72 patients suffering from myasthenia gravis or from peripheral neuromuscular disorders was assessed, using the General Health Questionnaire and Present State Examination.

Approximately half the patients were being treated with an alternate day regime of prednisone, receiving high dosage one day and low the next. Emotional disorder was found to be less prevalent among these patients than among patients not on steroids. The significance of the finding is discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 138 , Issue 6 , June 1981 , pp. 504 - 506
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1981 

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References

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