The prolonged use of therapeutic glucocorticoids is associated with a range of adverse effects (figure 1). The detrimental effects on bone have received the greatest focus and there are now a range of therapeutic strategies available to reduce the negative effects of glucocorticoids on bone [1]. Endogenous or exogenous glucocorticoid excess is also associated with other serious clinical features such as the development of insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance and frank diabetes [2].…