Clinical Application of Steroidal Compounds

Clinical Application of Steroidal Compounds
Steroidal compounds are a class of natural chemical components widely found in nature,
including plant sterols, bile acids, insect allergic hormones, cardiac glycosides, steroidal saponins,
and steroidal alkaloids. Steroidal compounds are widely found in animals and plants and have
various biological activities. Some steroidal compounds are used to treat diseases. For example,
progesterone can be used as contraceptive, spironolactone can be used as diuretic, and diosgenin
is used to synthesize steroid hormones.
Steroidal compounds can be divided into estrogens, androstenoids and progesterone compounds
according to different chemical structures. According to their pharmacological effects, steroids
can be divided into sex hormones (estrogens, progesterone, androgen and protein anabolic
hormones) and adrenocortical hormones (glucose metabolism corticosteroids, salt metabolism
corticosteroids).
The most important role of steroidal compounds in biological systems is as hormone. Steroid
hormones bind to their receptor proteins to produce physiological responses that trigger gene
transcription and changes of the cellular function. The most important steroidal compounds for
human physiology are cholesterol, steroid hormones, and their precursors and metabolites. In
the blood, steroid compounds are responsible for transporting proteins. Cholesterol is the
earliest discovered steroidal compound, mainly found in the blood, fat, brain and nerve tissues of
animals. Many animal hormones are sterols, such as progesterone, testosterone, estradiol in sex
hormones, and corticosterone in adrenal hormones. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)
causes different diseases, such as arteriosclerosis.
Common steroidal drugs are oxymetholone, testosterone undecanoate,
dehydromethyltestosterone, methionone, and stanozolol. Steroidal drugs can be taken orally or
by injection, and specific drugs may be required to be ingested in a specific way, but direct
injection is usually more effective than oral administration. It is generally believed that if the
steroid drugs are taken through oral administration, the steroid drugs will be directly absorbed by
the body, but in fact, the steroid drugs are difficult to be digested by the body. Steroidal drugs
have strong anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects, and have high medical value for
inflammatory diseases, allergic diseases, and autoimmune diseases. However, excessive use of
steroid drugs may lead to abnormalities in the hypoamalmic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, leading
to atrophy of the adrenal cortex due to long-term cessation of work, ultimately leading to
patients’ dependence on steroid drugs.
Sterides are substances that the body would secrete. In addition, we can quickly secrete large
amounts of sterides when exposed to external stress or in critical situation. Analeptic is an
anabolic steroid that can be used to increase the explosive force of an athlete to achieve a goal of
improving athletic performance in a short period of time. However, the side effects of excessive
consumption of the steroid drugs are very harmful to the body. Tendons and ligament injuries
caused by long-term exercise can also be treated with steroid drugs, which can be detected from
the urine within a few months of use. Once the body suffers from accidental injury, stress or
disease, the body's immunity will be affected, and various symptoms such as inflammation,

allergies, and endocrine incoordination will occur. These symptoms can be alleviated by the
steroidal drugs. It is necessary to take steroidal drugs under the guidance of a doctor to achieve
optimal treatment and minimize possible side effects.