Steroid therapy in neurological diseases and its side effects

1. Big picture

Corticosteroids are among the most important acute anti-inflammatory and anti-edema drugs in neurology. They are used when neurological damage is caused by:

• immune inflammation;
• demyelination;
• autoimmune vascular inflammation;
• vasogenic edema around tumors;
• nerve edema in selected cranial neuropathies;
• inflammatory muscle or nerve disease.

The key exam sentence:

Steroids are used in neurology mainly for MS relapse, myositis, myasthenia gravis with caution, CIDP but not acute GBS, vasogenic peritumoral edema, cerebral vasculitis, giant cell arteritis, Bell’s palsy, and selected meningitis/encephalitis contexts.

The most important exam trap:

Steroids