APA Dictionary of Psychology

medical treatment that involves the use of corticosteroid drugs. Both mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids may be used as replacement therapy in patients whose secretion of the natural hormones is deficient, either through disease or surgical removal of one or both adrenal glands. However, glucocorticoids are most widely used as anti-inflammatory agents; they are also used in the treatment of asthma, dermatologic conditions, and seasonal rhinitis.