steroid, dehydroepiandro­ sterone sulfate (DHEAS). Second, the activity of cortisol is directly modulated by enzymes in the target organs and lymphoid tissues that convert it into inactive cortisone. This new information leads to the possibility that immunoregulatory steroids could be used by physicians in novel ways. We can envisage steroid combinations that exploit the anti-inflammatory effects of corti­ sol, while the Thi-suppressing and Th2-promoting properties of these hormones are opposed by derivatives of DHEAS. Such therapies are already proving effective in animal models of infection, and could revol­ utionize treatment of Th2-mediated diseases such as asthma, where the anti-inflammatory effects of cortisol are desirable but the effects on T lymphocyte differentiation are not.