Patients randomized to prednisone (n=55) were scheduled to receive 1.5 mg/kg daily for 2 weeks and then 0.75 mg/kg daily for 2 weeks.

So while prednisone—and drugs like it—are adept at quickly snuffing out inflammation, they leave the body vulnerable to any bug it encounters, and they can come with toxic side effects.

Steroid medications, including corticosteroids, like prednisone, are common treatments for conditions, like asthma or arthritis, that result from inflammation or dysfunctional immune system activity.

IL-6r inhibition has been studied since IL-6 was first discovered in 1989 as a mediator of inflammatory responses in gout and CPPD, when it was shown that both CPP and MSU crystals can stimulate ...