MOOD MEDICINE

HOW drugs change our behaviour. This week: Asthma drugs that make you generous CORTICOSTEROIDS are a class of medicines used to treat asthma and autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

They are essentially manmade versions of hormones called glucocorticoids and have anti-inflammatory effects.

But because glucocorticoids also have a role in hunger, the sleep-wake cycle, learning and memory, they can lead to side-effects.

A study at the University of Catanzaro, Italy, reported in the Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics, found that up to 70 per cent of patients have increased appetite, and may also experience ‘steroid euphoria’, reducing anxiety and depression.

Why is unclear. Other unexpected side-effects are laughter or crying, and according to a study by the University of Oxford, the medicines may cause the release of ‘cuddle hormone’ oxytocin which causes behaviour changes such as increased trust and generosity.