> The medications included prednisone, and methylprednisolone, plus albuterol, beclomethasone, dexamethasone, cromolyn, salmeterol and clarithromycin.
> The treatment with steroids was stopped and three years later (while still taking buspirone, albuterol, fluticasone and salmeterol inhalers, loratadine and theophylline)
Yeah, this was more than just one steroid doing something to him. When you have a situation where someone is on that many different medications, it's no longer a case where you can simply point to one thing and say "that caused it." There's no telling what other underlying conditions were exacerbated in the process and what side effects may be due to the drugs NOT discontinued.
The above sounds like nuclear option amounts of asthma meds and it's reasonable to expect potential long term effects.
That being said, inhaled steroids are considered much, much safer than oral ones, due to much smaller doses and targeted effects.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steroid_dementia_syndrome#Case...
I was on prednisolone for a couple of months a few years ago. I can't say I was very intelligent before that, but it's certainly took a toll on my memory and cognitive abilities. (No, it's probably not hypochondria, I didn't even know corticosteroids could have such consequences when I noticed the problem.)