Corticosteroids in the treatment of rheumatologic diseases.

Despite continued reports of their efficacy in certain circumstances, controversy over the role of corticosteroids in the treatment of the rheumatologic diseases, especially of rheumatoid arthritis, persists. New clinical data are emerging on the role of corticosteroids in combination with other antirheumatic drugs and about the local use of corticosteroids in other inflammatory arthropathies. In the laboratory, understanding of the effect of corticosteroids on the phenotype of synovial leukocytes has been enhanced. The effects of corticosteroids on bone mineral density continue to be studied, although large, well-controlled, comparative studies are still few in number, and use of osteoprotective regimens in the community has been shown to be low.