Is Prednisone & Prednisolone the Same?
Close! Prednisolone is the active metabolite of prednisone.
guest 1. I am a long way removed from a pharmacology class but I will have to disagree with my colleague from Colorado…
…as I understand it, the difference in the name between prednisone and prednisolone is the letter L.
Prednisolone does not have to be liver activated and therefore is used as an anti-shock drug in intensive care facilities around the world and for all kinds of shock including blood loss and septic shock etc.
Prednisone does have to be liver activated and is not used in intensive care facilities and is primarily used as an immune suppressor for auto-immune diseases and in some cancer cases etc.
From my experience, prednisone has little effect when used to treat the cytokine storm or shock as a result of viral or bacterial sepsis. It is critically important in this instance to have prednisolone avaliable…just remember the letter L means doesn’t have to be liver activated…and like I said…I haven’t been in a pharmacology class for 25 years.
Sorry, I should have said that I respectfully disagree with my colleague, MAV in Colorado. /:0)
I think we’re saying the same thing distinguished and respectful colleague Doctor Tom. Prednisone is a prodrug (converted by the liver) to the active steroid, prednisolone. Good point re: C- storm
Tom - I know you have probably posted this before--- Please be a darling and post how much Prednisolone is required for a Cytokine Storm in both adults and children. Sometimes I’m away from my computer for extended periods of time. I appologize if this is a repeat for you. gina
Typically, what would a doctor prescribe prednisolone for? How do we procure such a Rx. I know this is horrible, but have had to fake symptoms over the weekend in order to get doc to call in antibiotics. There is no other way, most everyone, Dr’s included are so complacent about Bird Flu. I have four children and scared to death (no pun intended). Seems so worng to have to do that, but I have had no choice in the matter. I wish TPTB would get on the ball, inform people, my God, we are staring a beast right in the eye, and most of the population is looking the other way. So frustrated, just want to cry right now.
Hey, at least we’ve got each other on the Flu Wiki, guest1. Crazy-making, especially if you have children to be responsible for, but, at least you know you’re not the only one on the planet who can “see the beast”.
Make sure you have supplies to shelter in place; seems like basic needs (and community household preparedness) will be important to survival,too.
Hi everyone. If someone could direct guest 1 to the previous two or three prednisolone discussions, it would help…I would but don’t know how to do it…thanks.
Some interesting questions have been raised by the short discussion here, distinct from the prednisolone threads.
First, when the pandemic arrives, by my calculation those of us who get the flu will feel like we are going to die but will have an 80 % chance of surviving with absolutely no ill effects…and since 5–15% of the population will not get sick and possibly 25 % will not get sick in the first two waves…the odds of escaping ill effects would be greater than 80%.
Therefore, this discussion is concerned with two groups of persons…1) those who will die from the pandemic strain (approx. 10% in my opinion) and 2) those who will have live limiting complications like emphysema from influenza (also 10%)…
…there are two ways for each of this side-effects to occur. 1) a significant porportions of deaths, greater than 5% will occur due to direct viral damage…this usually occurs in the first 2–3 days of the infection…
…and 2) secondary bacterial infections that attack the body and immune system weakened by the primary viral infection…say 5% of deaths and 5% of chronic sequelae.
Cattle are particularly prone to both viral infections and the cytokine storms…I treated a syndrome identical to SARS in cattle for many years and designed a treatment protocol that included prednisolone that significantly lowered both deaths and post-infection complications.
Gina. The point of the prednisolone therapy would be to treat with moderate dosages for a short period of time (to prevent the steroid interfering with the bodies healing process and to prevent immune suppression)…and it should be noted that this treatment is being suggested at a point where there is no effective alternative.
It should be said that steroids have been used for more than fifty years and are critical components of antishock treatments of all kinds in intensive care situations and in the treatment of autoimmune disorders etc. Large numbers of people are on these drugs each day and minor side-effects can be managed. I believe steroids are probably the number two most important pharmaceuticals ever developed (okay, maybe number three after my fellow Canadians, Banting and Best’s discovery of insulin)
My sister in law recieved prednisolone last summer at 50mg. per day for four days as a result of a bee sting. There was no requirement for monitoring by a doctor etc.
My suggestion would probably be in the range 50 mg per day (orally)in combination with acetominophen or Ibuprofen to control temperature. The patient would be weaned off the prednisolone as soon as possible (2–3 days) while continuing the anti-fever drugs for the duration of infection.
I found that you reach a maximum benefit in the first day and going beyond three to five days at the absolute outside is counter-productive and does more harm then good.
During SARS, I believe they were using massive doses (1000–2000 mg per day) for weeks. No wonder the treatments either didn’t work or resulted in deaths…with extended treatments, I have seen the same thing in cattle.
If we are offered an effective alternative then of course we wouldn’t use prednisolone…but prednisolone allows us the avaliability of an intensive care anti-shock drug that can safely be given orally at home…and the oral treatment, other than taking a little longer to get to effective blood concentrations, works in exactly the same way as the intravenous form given in intensive care…in my opinion, this is a wonderful opportunity we should not pass up.
We (flu wiki) are going to have to take on the American Medical Association and equivalent associations around the world to ensure that they provide rpesecription to those who request them and that Governments include broad spectrum antibiotics, oral electrolyte powders, prednisolone and antifever drugs etc. in national stockpiles…
…so that we don’t end up treating this infection like they did in 1830…
…and I would suggest we take careful note of the naturopathic threads because it seems we aren’t going to have any pharmaceuticals to treat our children with.
Threads like Cytokinic Dysregulation 6 (ok; start at #1, makes more sense, but)
guest1 – at 11:06 Typically, what would a doctor prescribe prednisolone for?
“Prednisolone is indicated in all conditions where corticosteroid therapy is likely to be of benefit. These include acute haemolytic disorders, allergic disorders, asthma, leukaemia, thrombocytopenic purpura, coeliac disease, insulin resistance in diabetes mellitus, immunosuppression, liver disorders and ulcerative colitis.”
(http://home.intekom.com/pharm/lennon/lensolon.html)
I have used it (oral tablets) short term after corneal transplant surgery, and continue to use it (ophthalmic drops) daily to prevent transplant rejection.
Dennis in Colorado. Thanks for the reference.
Unfortunately, these two drugs are very close in spelling and also I found that prednisolone works and prednisone doesn’t work at all in viral-bacterial toxemias or septicaemias…
…so one small word of caution…would be that prednisone is the more common formulation and is used for many of the things you mentioned…but doesn’ work for the application we are presently concerned with…
…prednisolone is primarily an anti-shock drug but is also used in other conditions where fast blood concentrations are required to offset for example an over-active immune system.
Thanks again.
crfullmoon. Thanks. I think there might have been one before that with prednisolone in the title…that was kind of an introduction to the subject.