Do I need hormone therapy for rheumatoid arthritis? Adrenocorticosteroids (“hormones”), including prednisone, methylprednisolone, dexamethasone, etc., have broad-spectrum and powerful anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects, so they can quickly and effectively control inflammation and improve the symptoms of swollen and painful joints in active rheumatoid arthritis. However, long-term use of hormones may lead to a series of side effects such as hyperglycemia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, osteoporosis, centripetal obesity (buffalo back, full moon face), femoral head necrosis, aggravation of infection, peptic ulcer, cataract, glaucoma, etc. Therefore, hormones are not recommended as a routine treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in international and domestic treatment guidelines. At present, the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis mainly relies on a class of drugs called “slow-acting antirheumatic drugs”, including methotrexate, leflunomide, hydroxychloroquine, salazosulfapyridine, radiciciclovir, and elamod, etc. For severe refractory patients, biological agents, such as anti-tumor necrosis factor, can be applied. Generally speaking, the indications for the use of hormones in rheumatoid arthritis include: 1, the active stage of arthritis, joint swelling and pain is obvious, before the slow-acting anti-rheumatic drugs (average time of onset of action 2-3 months) is not fully effective, short-term use, in order to gradually control the disease “bridge” effect. 2.Patients with serious extra-articular manifestations, such as vasculitis, myocarditis, pericardial effusion, interstitial pneumonia, central nervous and eye lesions, etc.. At this time, it is necessary to apply medium to large doses of hormones to facilitate control of the disease and prevent irreversible damage to internal organs. 3. For stubborn individual joints, 1-2 injections of hormones in the joint cavity can help control the symptoms.