Patients taking prednisone will suppress the production of which hormones?

Prednisone is a corticosteroid that has a potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effect. It mimics the action of cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal glands that plays a vital role in several bodily functions, including the regulation of metabolism, immune response, and stress response.

When a patient takes prednisone, it raises the levels of glucocorticoids in the body. This increase in glucocorticoids provides a negative feedback mechanism that suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Specifically, this feedback inhibition leads to decreased secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the pituitary gland, which in turn reduces cortisol production from the adrenal glands. As such, the administration of prednisone can effectively lower the levels of both ACTH and cortisol due to this negative feedback loop.

The other hormone options involve different mechanisms and pathways not affected directly by prednisone. Insulin and glucagon are primarily involved in glucose metabolism and are regulated by blood glucose levels rather than glucocorticoids. Adrenaline and norepinephrine are catecholamines related to the stress response but are synthesized and released from different pathways than those influenced by corticosteroids. Thyroxine and triiodothy