Increased pressure within the eye is a possible complication of corticosteroid medications prescribed to treat asthma, arthritis, allergies or skin rashes. About 5 percent of patients are "high responders" and another 30 percent are "moderate responders" to corticosteroids, experiencing increased intraocular pressure that can lead to glaucoma. 
[SOURCE: J.W. Stokkermans, "There More to Steroids than Meets the Eye," Review of Optometry, March 15, 2002]

High-Dose Steroids Raise Stroke Risk

A recent study of nearly 8,000 older adults in the Netherlands found that those taking high doses of corticosteroids such as prednisone for treatment of asthma, arthritis or other disorders had nearly a six-fold increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a rhythm disturbance of the heart. Atrial fibrillation in turn increases the risk of stroke and heart failure. [SOURCE: Deborah Kaplan, “High-Dose Corticosteroids May Increase Stroke Risk,” Patient Care for the Nurse Practitioner, July, 2006]

 Injection plus Therapy Hastens Recovery 
                                                                                   

A randomized controlled study of patients with frozen shoulder found that subjects given a single corticosteroid injection, with or without physical therapy, had quicker improvement of symptoms than those treated with physical therapy alone or placebo. The greatest improvement was shown in the group getting combination therapy, but the difference was not statistically significant. 
[SOURCE: S. Carette, et al, "Intraarticular Corticosteroids, Supervised Physiotherapy, or a Combination of the Two in the Treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder: A Placebo-Controlled Trial," Arthritis Rheum, March, 2003; Allan S. Brett, Journal Watch, May 1, 2003]

 Steroid Injection May Help Tennis Elbow

Strenuous gripping plus repetitive wrist and forearm motions can result in sports injuries known as tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow. In most cases, the best treatment is rest, ice and use of NSAIDs (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen. When the pain lingers, a doctor may use a corticosteroid injection for quick, sustained relief. To reduce the risk of rupturing a tendon, injections are usually limited to two or three a year, given at least four months apart. [SOURCE: Deanna Sanchez-Yamamoto and Thomas M. Bush, “Corticosteroids Often Relieve Symptoms When Other Treatments Do Not–Injection Therapy for Bursitis and Tendinitis,” The Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine, October 1, 2006]

 Steroids for Asthma Won’t Pump You Up

If you’re taking inhaled steroids for asthma, you don’t have to worry about getting huge muscles like those of top-level athletes accused of using performance-enhancing drugs. The antiinflammatory drugs prescribed for asthma and other medical conditions are corticosteroids. The performance-enhancing drugs that build muscle mass are anabolic steroids. [SOURCE: Norman Edelman and Jerome Bettis, “Asthma Control: Know Your Score,” WebMD Live Events Transcript, March 29, 2005]

Steroids Put Teens at Risk 
                                                                                                           

About two to three percent of American adolescents have taken anabolic steroids, and a recent survey found that regular use among teenaged boys increased 25 percent from 1999 to 2000. Anabolic steroids are most commonly used in an effort to improve athletic performance, but many youth surveyed-both males and females-indicated that they didn't play sports but used the substances to improve appearance. In addition to being illegal, steroids can have severe and lasting effects, including permanently short stature and damage to the liver, heart and other body organs. 
[SOURCE: "Steroid Use Rising among Non-Athletes," Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, December 16, 2002; Steven Ungerleider, "Steroids: Youth at Risk," Harvard Mental Health Letter, May, 2001]