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Differential effects of inhaled budesonide and oral prednisolone on serum immunoglobulin G and its subclasses in healthy adult volunteers
Author(s) -
SCHOOR J.,
TOOGOOD J. H.,
PAUWELS R. A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
clinical and experimental allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.462
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1365-2222
pISSN - 0954-7894
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1997.tb00692.x
Subject(s) - prednisolone , budesonide , medicine , corticosteroid , oral administration , endocrinology , antibody , immunoglobulin g , gastroenterology , immunology
Summary Background Glucocorticosteroid (GCS) treatment lowers serum IgG and IgG subclass (IgG‐SC) levels, but the minimal dose and duration of administration at which this occurs is not known. Objective The aim of this study was to define the daily dose of a 2‐week course of GCS at which IgG(‐SC) suppression occurs. Methods The effects of three GCS treatment schemes on serum IgG(‐SC) levels in healthy adults were studied in a double‐blind, randomized trial. Group I ( n = 10) was treated with 40mg oral prednisolone/day, group 2 ( n = 10) with 10 mg oral prednisolone/day and group 3 ( n = 10) with 3.2 mg inhaled budesonide/day. Blood sampling was performed at baseline and at the end of the 2‐week treatment period. Results In group 1, IgGl, IgG2 and lgG3 levels were significantly decreased after treatment, while in group 2 this was only so for IgG3. In both groups, the decrease of total IgG tended towards or just reached significance. In group 3, no statistically significant changes were observed. Conclusion A course of 40mg oral prednisolone/day for 2 weeks induces significant suppression of serum IgG‐SC levels; lower doses cause more subtle changes, indicating that GCS‐induced IgG‐SC suppression is a dose‐dependent phenomenon. Short courses of very high doses of inhaled budesonide appear to be devoid of this side‐effect.