Figure 1

Relationship between different glucocorticoid doses (prednisone equivalent milligrams), intensity of the therapeutic effect (arbitrary units), and genomic/nongenomic mechanism of action. Low-dose therapy, <7.5 mg/day; medium-dose therapy, 7.5 up to 30 mg/day; high-dose therapy, 30 up to 100 mg/day; very high-dose therapy, >100 mg/day; pulse therapy, >250 mg/day for a few days [12]. *When administering 100 to 200 mg prednisone per day, all cytosolic glucocorticoid (GC) receptors are occupied (nongenomic action) [23].