Defcort 6: Uses, How It Works, Side Effects

What is Defcort 6 used for?

Defcort 6 is a prescription medicine. It is used, on a doctor's advice, to treat inflammatory and immune conditions.

• Treating inflammatory and immune conditions, as decided by a doctor
• Treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy in children and young people, under specialist care (an approved use of deflazacort in the US)

How does Defcort 6 work?

Deflazacort is changed in the body into an active form that works like cortisol, a hormone made by the adrenal glands. It reduces inflammation and calms the immune system, but also lowers the body's defence against infection.

What happens in your body after you take it

1. You swallow the tablet

   The tablet dissolves in the gut and deflazacort is absorbed into the blood. It is often taken with or after food to ease the stomach.

2. It travels in the blood

   Deflazacort is carried around the body and reaches inflamed tissues, the immune system and many organs.

3. It enters cells and acts like cortisol

   Inside cells, deflazacort attaches to steroid receptors, the same ones the body's own cortisol uses, and changes which genes are switched on.

4. Inflammation and immune activity fall

   Fewer inflammatory signals are made, so swelling, redness and allergic reactions ease. The immune system is also quietened, which is why infections can be easier to catch.

5. The body clears it

   The liver breaks it down and the kidneys remove it. After weeks of use the body's own steroid production slows, which is why the doctor lowers the dose gradually rather than stopping suddenly.

How to take Defcort 6

Take Defcort 6 exactly as your doctor has prescribed or as printed on the pack. Your doctor decides the dose and for how long, and may lower it gradually.

• It is usually taken with or after food, often in the morning. Follow the label or your doctor's advice.
• If you miss a dose, take it when you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed one. Do not take two doses together.
• Do not stop it suddenly if you have taken it for more than a few weeks. The doctor lowers the dose slowly.
• Tell any doctor, dentist or pharmacist who treats you that you are taking a steroid.
• Your doctor may ask for blood pressure, blood sugar and other checks during longer treatment.

Side effects of Defcort 6

Short courses often cause only mild effects. Longer or higher-dose treatment is more likely to cause serious ones.

Uncommon or mild

• Indigestion or stomach upset
• Weight gain and a bigger appetite
• Trouble sleeping or restlessness
• Mood changes
• Sweating
• Easy bruising, acne or thinner skin

Who should be careful

Defcort 6 is a strong prescription medicine. Some people need to check with a doctor before taking it, and everyone needs care while taking it.

• Do not stop it suddenly after more than a few weeks: the body's own steroid production slows, and stopping at once can cause weakness, tiredness, vomiting and a flare of the condition. Your doctor lowers the dose gradually
• Infection: it lowers resistance to infection and can hide its signs. Tell your doctor about fever, sore throat, cough or a wound that will not heal, about tuberculosis, and about recent contact with chickenpox, shingles or measles
• Diabetes: it can raise blood sugar, so sugar checks or diabetes medicine doses may need review
• Stomach ulcer: it can irritate the stomach, especially together with anti-inflammatory painkillers
• High blood pressure, heart failure or fluid retention, and low potassium
• Mental health: it can cause sleep problems, mood swings, depression or confusion. Tell your doctor
• Thin bones, glaucoma or cataract, and slowed growth in children on long treatment
• Vaccines: ask your doctor before any vaccine, because live vaccines are usually avoided during treatment
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: tell your doctor; the benefit is weighed against the risk
• Grapefruit juice: it can raise the level of deflazacort; ask your doctor
• Skin reactions: a serious skin reaction has been reported in the first weeks of treatment; contact a doctor at once for any new rash

Medicines and things that interact with Defcort 6

Defcort 6 can change how other medicines work, and some medicines change its effect. Tell your doctor or pharmacist about everything you take, including herbal remedies and painkillers bought over the counter.

• Anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen, diclofenac and aspirin: together with a steroid they raise the risk of stomach ulcers and bleeding
• Diabetes medicines including insulin: blood sugar can rise, so the dose may need changing
• Rifampicin, phenytoin and carbamazepine: they can weaken the steroid's effect
• Some antifungals and antibiotics: they can strengthen the steroid's effect
• Water tablets (diuretics): potassium can fall too low
• Blood thinners such as warfarin: clotting tests may need to be checked more often
• Live vaccines: usually avoided while taking steroids
• Grapefruit juice, and medicines such as clarithromycin, fluconazole, diltiazem and verapamil: they can raise deflazacort levels, so the doctor may adjust the dose
• Carbamazepine, phenytoin, rifampicin and efavirenz: they can lower deflazacort levels a great deal, so the combination is usually avoided

If someone takes too much

Storage

Store below 30 C in a dry place, away from heat and moisture, in the original strip, and out of the reach of children. Do not use after the expiry date. Check the pack for the exact storage instructions.

Regulatory status in India

Approved for sale in India as a prescription medicine. Single-ingredient deflazacort is not on the CDSCO list of medicines banned under section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, but fixed-dose combinations of corticosteroids with any other drug for internal use (other than inhalers) are banned. Defcort 6 is expected to contain deflazacort only; confirm on the pack.

Other brands with the same medicine

Deflazacort 6 mg tablets are sold under other brand names and as generic medicines. They contain the same medicine; check the label for the strength. Do not switch between products or strengths without asking your doctor.

Other strengths and forms

Deflazacort is also sold in other strengths and, for some steroids, as liquids or injections. The strength is printed on the pack and is not the same across products, so check the label of the one you have.

Common questions