What is the Difference Between Cortisone and Hydrocortisone

The key difference between cortisone and hydrocortisone is that cortisone is a corticosteroid hormone, whereas hydrocortisone is a topical steroid useful in treating minor rashes or skin irritation.

Cortisone and hydrocortisone are closely related names, but they are different substances. Cortisone is a pregnane steroid hormone, while hydrocortisone is the trade name of cortisol.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Cortisone 
3. What is Hydrocortisone
4. Cortisone vs Hydrocortisone in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Cortisone vs Hydrocortisone 

What is Cortisone?

Cortisone is a pregnane steroid hormone. It is a naturally occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is useful as a pharmaceutical prodrug. Moreover, this hormone is not produced in the adrenal glands. It is generated in the kidney from cortisol, where cortisol is converted into inactive metabolite cortisone with the help of enzymes. Further, cortisone can convert back to the active form, cortisol, in the liver with the use of enzymes.

Usually, cortisone is administrated as a prodrug. Therefore, our body has to convert it into cortisone after the administration for it to become effective. This medication has many uses, and the methods of administration of cortisone are by intravenous injection, oral administration, intra-articularly injection, or transcutaneous injection. This medication can suppress many different elements of the immune system, including inflammation, attendant pain, and swelling.

However, there can be some side effects of cortisone: asthma, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, anxiety, depression, amenorrhoea, cataracts, glaucoma, etc.

Cortisone is a product of steroidogenesis. It starts with the formation of cholesterol followed by a series of modifications in the adrenal gland, becoming any one of the steroid hormones. Cortisol forms as one end product of this process. Cortisol is released from the adrenal gland according to a cascade of signaling.

What is Hydrocortisone?

Hydrocortisone is the trade name of cortisol, which is a hormone. The uses of this medication include adrenocortical insufficiency, adrenogenital syndrome, high blood calcium, thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and COPD.

The most common side effects of using hydrocortisone include mood changes, increased risk of infection, and edema. The use of this medication for a long time includes some side effects such as osteoporosis, upset stomach, physical weakness, easy bruising, etc.

We can describe hydrocortisone as cortisol in oral administration, intravenous injection, and topical application. This medication is useful as an immunosuppressive drug. It is given mainly for allergy reactions such as anaphylaxis and angioedema. Moreover, hydrocortisone can be useful for application on topical areas such as allergic rashes, eczema, psoriasis, itching, etc. If we can cover the skin after using this medication, it can increase the absorption and effectiveness of the medication.

What is the Difference Between Cortisone and Hydrocortisone?

Cortisone and hydrocortisone are closely related names, but they are different substances. The key difference between cortisone and hydrocortisone is that cortisone is a corticosteroid hormone, whereas hydrocortisone is a topical steroid useful in treating minor rashes or skin irritation. When considering the role in biological systems, cortisone shows an anti-inflammatory effect while hydrocortisone tends to activate metabolic processes. Moreover, cortisone is chemically close to cortisol. Hydrocortisone can be defined as an important glucocorticoid.

The following table summarizes the difference between cortisone and hydrocortisone.

Summary – Cortisone vs Hydrocortisone

Cortisone and hydrocortisone are closely related names, but they are different substances. The key difference between cortisone and hydrocortisone is that cortisone is a corticosteroid hormone, whereas hydrocortisone is a topical steroid useful in treating minor rashes or skin irritation. Cortisone is chemically close to cortisol. Hydrocortisone can be defined as an important glucocorticoid.

Reference:

1. “Hydrocortisone.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
2. “Cortisone Uses, Side Effects & Warnings.” Drugs.com.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Cortison” By NEUROtiker – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Cortisol2” By Calvero. – Selfmade with chemdraw. (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia