Systemic corticosteroid treatment in Peyronie's disease

Peyronie's disease is characterized by penile pain, plaque or indurated area in the tunica albugenia and penile curvature during erection. Peyronie's disease is a chronic and progressive inflammatory disease. Intralesional corticosteroids have been studied in the treatment of Peyronie's disease due to its inflammatory pathogenesis but hardness of the penile plaque hinders the effective injection and activity of the compound and leads to local side effects. Corticosteroids are the most effective therapy for many inflammatory disorders and systemic use has not been studied in Peyronie's disease. Oral corticosteroids may decrease the pain, improve the penile curvature, reduce the plaque size, and inhibit the formation of fibrosis particularly in the acute inflammatory phase. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.