Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 20, 2025

Author Spotlight: Exploring the Mysteries of Sichuan's Herbal Medicine in Chinese Medicine Research
Published on: March 1, 2024
Physiological and Pharmacological Effects of Glucocorticoids on the Gastrointestinal Tract
Ludmila Filaretova1, Tatiana Podvigina1, Natalia Yarushkina1
1Laboratory of Experimental Endocrinology, Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.
Abstract:
The review considers the data on the physiological and pharmacological effects of glucocorticoids on the gastric mucosa and focuses on the gastroprotective role of stress-produced glucocorticoids as well as on the transformation of physiological gastroprotective effects of glucocorticoids to pathological proulcerogenic consequences. The results of experimental studies on the re-evaluation of the traditional notion that stress-produced glucocorticoids are ulcerogenic led us to the opposite conclusion suggested that these hormones play an important role in the maintenance of the gastric mucosal integrity. Exogenous glucocorticoids may exert both gastroprotective and proulcerogenic effects. Initially, gastroprotective effect of dexamethasone but not corticosterone, cortisol or prednisolone can be transformed into proulcerogenic one. The most significant factor for the transformation is the prolongation of its action rather the dose. Gastrointestinal injury can be accompanied by changes in somatic pain sensitivity and glucocorticoids contribute to these changes playing a physiological and pathological role.
Related Concept Videos
Drugs for Treatment of Crohn's Disease in IBD Using Glucocorticoids
Inflammatory Bowel Disease IV: Pharmacological Management
Pharmacologic...
Drugs for Treatment of Crohn's Disease in IBD Using Immunomodulatory Agents
Factors Influencing Drug Absorption: Disease States and Pharmacology
Substances such as alcohol and specific drugs, including antineoplastics, can also negatively impact drug absorption. For instance,...
Antiasthma Drugs: Inhaled Corticosteroids and Glucocorticoids
ICS work through a multifaceted mechanism of action. They suppress the inflammatory response caused by the proliferation of TH cells. They also reduce the transcription of the IL-2 gene, which is involved in the...
Drugs for Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis in IBD

