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Hello,

here's all the info I got (sorry, a little long):

In brief: Prednisone may be the only thing available now..

Prednisone can be used for many things. It suppresses the immune system
(it's anti inflamatory by stopping the production of prostaglandins
which are mediators in our bodies cascade of inflammation in response to
insult or injury.) Prednisone is used for the treatment of refractive
cases of Celiac Sprue.

For Addison's disease, you are taking it to replace what your body would
be taking naturally (sort of like a diabetic and insulin).

Steroids (Prednisone), also have the side effect of suppressing the
adrenal gland function if taken in high doses over extended periods of
time. That is why patients should be weaned off these doses and not
taken off abruptly.  When the adrenal gland is suppressed, the body
stops making natural,self-made hormones that normally come from there -
the adrenal-corticoids.  We fight infections among other things with our
own adrenal gland hormones and this supression can lead to major
illnesses and problems.  Again, for those that have to be on these
drugs, varying the dosing schedule has proven to prevent some of the
worst side effects, as always the lowest dose effective is always the
best.

A note about refractory cases:
- If you have "refractory" celiac disease you should be checked for
intestinal overgrowths (which can prevent recovery even on a gluten free
diet.)   A presumptive course of antibiotics might well solve the
problem ..
- you may have candida, (intestinal yeast) try caprylic acid.  I use
a brand called Capricin by Probiologic.  3 caps 3x a day (total 9) for
about 8 weeks

Something to investigate:
- aloe vera helps heal the intestine
- The amino acid histidine is used for many things.  For treating
allergies, it helps increase the ratio of suppressor cells to helper
cells.  Apparently allergic people make too many helper T-cells and not
enough suppressor cells to keep the immune reaction in check. I read
this in the book "The amino revolution"

When refractory cases are severe:
Parenteral feeding is also used in some terrible refractory cases
because the villi won't heal...

The alternatives:
- Cyclosporine apparently has been a standard drug used for refractory
sprue since at least 1994. I do not know if prednisone pre- or
post-dates cyclosporine as a treatment, (may have a different mix of
side effects than predisone)
- I heard it is worse than prednisone

It's better sometimes, to avoid more refractive reactions of sprue, to
be absolutely compliant with the diet, and prepare all of it from
scratch, to avoid any contamination.

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