corticosteroid
5 interactions related to corticosteroid
prednisone + vitamin d
Glucocorticoids such as prednisone speed up the breakdown of vitamin D and blunt vitamin D-driven calcium absorption at the gut, which contributes to bone loss. Population data link oral steroid use to a higher rate of severe vitamin D deficiency, so vitamin D plus adequate calcium is a standard part of long-term steroid care.
methylprednisolone + vitamin d
Methylprednisolone (a glucocorticoid) speeds the breakdown of vitamin D and weakens vitamin D-driven intestinal calcium absorption. Over continued therapy this lowers vitamin D status and contributes to glucocorticoid-induced bone loss.
prednisone + calcium
Glucocorticoids like prednisone impair intestinal calcium absorption and increase urinary calcium loss, contributing to a negative calcium balance and accelerated bone loss. This is a depletion-and-displacement effect, not a chemical interaction in the gut, and it is why calcium and vitamin D are treated as the foundation of bone protection during long-term steroid therapy.
prednisone + potassium
Prednisone has weak mineralocorticoid activity that promotes potassium loss through the kidneys. With higher doses or prolonged use this can lower blood potassium (hypokalemia), which may show up as muscle weakness, fatigue, cramps, or palpitations. The risk is greatest when other potassium-wasting drugs or licorice are also in the mix.
prednisone + licorice
Glycyrrhizin in real licorice inhibits the enzyme 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2, which normally inactivates cortisol and prednisolone at the kidney's mineralocorticoid receptor. Blocking it produces a pseudohyperaldosteronism state — sodium and water retention, rising blood pressure, and potassium loss. Layered onto prednisone, this can drive clinically significant hypokalemia, and severe cases of hypokalemic paralysis, arrhythmia, and refractory hypertension have been reported.