Corticosteroid Resistance in COPD

Corticosteroids are the most potent anti-inflammatory agents used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. However, some populations of these patients are corticosteroid-insensitive (1-3), and almost of all patients with COPD show a poor response to corticosteroids (4). If the molecular mechanisms for corticosteroid insensitivity are better understood especially in COPD, this may provide insight into the mechanisms of corticosteroid action and allow a rational way to treat these patients whose disease tends to be severe. Elucidation of the cause for the relative lack of corticosteroid response in COPD may have important implications for other chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.