Prednisone is a synthetic corticosteroid drug which is usually taken orally and can be used for a large number of different conditions. It has a mainly glucocorticoid effect. Prednisone is a prodrug that is converted by the liver into prednisolone, which is the active drug and a steroid.

Uses

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Prednisone is particularly effective as an immunosuppressant and affects virtually all of the immune system. It can therefore be used in autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases (such as asthma, severe poison ivy, and Crohn's disease), various kidney diseases including nephrotic syndrome, and to prevent and treat rejection in organ transplantation.

History

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Prednisone was invented in the early 1950s when Arthur Nobile (1920 - 2004) at Schering demonstrated that the side effects of cortisone such as water retention, high blood pressure and muscle weakness could be removed by oxidisation of the drug through exposure to microbes. The drug was introduced by Schering in the mid-1960s.

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