Changes in adipokines but not in body composition after one week of prednisone intake in physically fit women

Excerpt

Long-term glucocorticoid (GC) treatment has many known side effects, but the few studies that focused on short-term GC treatment have shown contradictory results. Regardless of whether short-term GC has or does not have negative effects on skeletal health, as is suspected [1], its administration induces weight gain [2, 3] or does not [4‐6], in association with increased food intake [2] or not [5], in healthy young men [2‐5] and postmenopausal women [6]. Glucocorticoids also alter the adipokine secretion (i.e., leptin and adiponectin) involved in the regulation of food intake. Although almost all studies have reported an increase in leptin with both the long-term and short-term GC treatments, the effects on adiponectin have been more controversial [5‐9]. As clinical applications for GCs are expanding worldwide because of their anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects, it is important to determine whether 1 week of GC treatment has major adverse effects on body composition or adipokines in healthy, young, and physically fit women. …