Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Inhaled flunisolide lowers stress hormones but not immunity
By Reinero, Carol R et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2006·Department of Pathology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Inhaled flunisolide suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, but has minimal systemic immune effects in healthy cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of healthy cats was treated with an inhaled medication called flunisolide for bronchial disease to see how it compared to a common oral steroid, prednisone. The inhaled treatment showed lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, but did not significantly affect the immune system, while the oral steroid did reduce immune cell activity. After the study, the cats treated with flunisolide had minimal side effects and maintained better immune function compared to those on prednisone. This suggests that inhaled steroids might be a safer option for managing respiratory issues in cats without compromising their immune health.
People also search for: cat bronchial disease treatment · inhaled steroids for cats · prednisone side effects in cats
Abstract
Feline bronchial disease is commonly treated with oral glucocorticoids (OGC), which might be contraindicated in cats with certain infectious, endocrine, renal, or cardiac diseases. Inhalant GC (IGC) maximize local efficacy and minimize systemic bioavailability. We evaluated systemic endocrine and immune effects of IGC (flunisolide, 250 microg/puff q12h) versus OGC (prednisone, 10 mg/d PO) and placebo. Six healthy cats received each drug for 2 weeks followed by a 1-month washout. Testing included determination of single early morning cortisol concentration, results of ACTH stimulation, the urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratio (UC: Cr), lymphocyte phenotype, lymphocyte blastogenesis, serum total IgA and IgM concentrations, and cytokine profiles. Significant differences between treatments were not apparent for serum immunoglobulin concentrations, or expression (mRNA) for the cytokines, interleukin (IL-) 2, IL-4, and IL-10, or gamma interferon. Single early morning cortisol concentration was lower for IGC (0.68 - 0.74 microg/dL), compared with that associated with placebo (2.82 +/- 1.94 microg/dL; P = .033). The ACTH-stimulated peak cortisol concentrations were lower after treatment in cats receiving IGC (before, 8.5 +/- 50.2 microg/dL; after, 2.9 +/- 3.3 microg/dL, P = .0004), but not OGC (before, 8.0 +/- 6.1 microg/dL; after, 6.0 +/- 4.5 microg/dL, P = .07). Similarly, UC: Cr (0.8 +/- 0.8) before IGC was lower than the value (5.02 +/- 3.62; P = .019) after IGC. Compared with placebo, cats given OGC, but not IGC, had significantly lower total percentages of T and B cells. Lymphocyte proliferation was decreased in cats receiving OGC, but not IGC, in comparison with placebo (6.9 +/- 3.3; 24.0 +/- 6.5; 18.8 +/- 14.0, respectively). Significantly more IL-10 mRNA transcription was detected in cats administered OGC or IGC, compared with placebo. Although IGC suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, IGC had minimal effects on the systemic adaptive immune system.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16496924/