The difference between immunosuppressants and hormones

For ordinary people, when seeing a doctor, they hope that the medicine will cure the disease. Even worse, they hope that the medicine will work as soon as they take it. But in fact, it is basically impossible, especially for some special diseases, the treatment process is relatively long. Rheumatoid arthritis, erythema, skin diseases, etc. can all be treated with immunosuppressants and hormone drugs, but some doctors prescribe one or both, depending on the condition. So what is the difference between immunosuppressants and hormones?

Immunosuppressants are drugs that have an inhibitory effect on the body's immune response. They can inhibit the proliferation and function of cells related to the immune response (macrophages such as T cells and B cells) and can reduce antibody immune responses. Immunosuppressants are mainly used to prevent organ transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus, fungal skin diseases, membranous glomerulonephritis, inflammatory bowel disease and autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

Broad definition: Hormone drugs are drugs that use human or animal hormones (including organic substances with the same structure and action principle as hormones) as active ingredients. Narrow definition: Usually, when doctors refer to "hormone drugs" unless otherwise specified, it is the abbreviation of "adrenal glucocorticoid drugs". Other types of hormone drugs are often referred to by their classification names, such as "androgen", "insulin", "growth hormone", etc. Hormone drugs, as a type of drug with rapid and obvious effects but also serious side effects, have always been controversial. Generally, hospitals try to avoid using these drugs unless it is absolutely necessary.

Of course, they are not the same thing. First of all, the price. Hormones are cheap, while immunosuppressants are much more expensive. Secondly, the side effects. Long-term use of hormone therapy has great side effects on the body, while immunosuppressants are much smaller. Looking at the specific disease, some diseases can be treated with large doses of hormones for shock therapy, and hormones can be used. If it is a chronic disease and an autoimmune disease that is prone to recurrence, it is better to use immunosuppressants for long-term treatment.