What are the side effects of Prednisone and Dexamethasone (DEXA)?
These are medications that belong to the group of drugs know as “steroids”. All patients will receive a low dose of prednisone by mouth every other day for the first 6 months of the study. Patients in the Dexamethasone group will take Dexamethasone over a period of one year. Side effects that may occur in patients on these medications include: lowered serum potassium (may cause muscle weakness), loss of muscle mass, loss of bone mass (osteoporosis), increased blood pressure, headache, increase in behavioral and psychiatric problems, increase in facial fat particularly around the cheeks, decrease in growth, decrease in the body’s own steroid production, increase in blood sugar, increase in hair growth, increase in appetite, weight gain, and nausea.
