ALS and Steroids

  Do steroids (or other immunosuppressants) worsen the symptoms of ALS?
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The answer is complex, steroids do not directly worsen the symptoms of ALS, however if someone is taking high doses of steroids over a long period, this leads to muscle wasting. Since there is already muscle wasting and weakness as part of the ALS this is a second separate process which weakens the muscles therby worsening the weakness overall.
This does not however come about as a direct effect on the process caused by the ALS, although the end result is the same.
Other immunosuppressants should not cause worsening of ALS sympotoms either directly or indirectly.