Inflammation
hideInflammation (Latin, inflamatio, to set on fire) is the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue. Inflammation is not a synonym for infection. Even in cases where inflammation is caused by infection, the two are not synonymous: infection is caused by an exogenous pathogen, while inflammation is the response of the organism to the pathogen.
In the absence of inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal and progressive destruction of the tissue would compromise the survival of the organism. However, an inflammation that runs unchecked can also lead to a host of diseases, such as hay fever, atherosclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. It is for that reason that inflammation is normally closely regulated by the body.
Inflammation can be classified as either acute or chronic. Acute inflammation is the initial response of the body to harmful stimuli and is achieved by the increased movement of plasma and leukocytes from the blood into the injured tissues. A cascade of biochemical events propagates and matures the inflammatory response, involving the local vascular system, the immune system, and various cells within the injured tissue. Prolonged inflammation, known as chronic inflammation, leads to a progressive shift in the type of cells which are present at the site of inflammation and is characterised by simultaneous destruction and healing of the tissue from the inflammatory process.
For more information about Inflammation, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with chronic inflammation
How eating red meat can spur cancer progression
Nov 13, 2008 |
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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, led by Ajit Varki, M.D., have shown a new mechanism for how human consumption of red meat and milk products could contribute to the increased risk ...
Researchers describe how chronic inflammation can lead to stomach cancer
Nov 05, 2008 |
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A multi-center research team, led by Columbia University Medical Center, has uncovered a major contributor to the cause of stomach cancer – the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the world. The team described ...
Vitamin E shows possible promise in easing chronic inflammation
Dec 04, 2008 |
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With up to half of a person's body mass consisting of skeletal muscle, chronic inflammation of those muscles – which include those found in the limbs – can result in significant physical impairment.
Amazonian tribe sheds light on causes of heart disease in developed countries
Aug 11, 2009 |
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Heart attacks and strokes -- the leading causes of death in the United States and other developed countries -- may have been rare for the vast majority of human history, suggests a study to be published in PLoS ONE on Tue ...
Biologists discover a protein link to wound healing
Mar 24, 2009 |
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Diabetes and eczema may appear to be two completely unrelated diseases. But UC San Diego biologists have uncovered what appears to be a crucial biochemical link between the two.
Team identifies a molecular switch linking infectious disease and depression
Mar 31, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Illinois report that IDO, an enzyme found throughout the body and long suspected of playing a role in depression, is in fact essential to the onset of depressive symptoms sparked ...
Largest gene study of childhood IBD identifies 5 new genes
Nov 15, 2009 |
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In the largest, most comprehensive genetic analysis of childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an international research team has identified five new gene regions, including one involved in a biological pathway ...
Molecule discovered that makes obese people develop diabetes
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Many people who are overweight or obese develop insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes at some stage in their lives. A European research team has now discovered that obese people have large amounts of the ...
Relationship between prostate information and lower urinary-tract symptoms evident
Nov 13, 2008 |
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Arnhem, 13 November 2008 -- In the December issue of European Urology (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eururo) Dr. Curtis Nickel and associates report on the evidence of a relationship between prostate inflammation and lower ...
Researchers discover a new pathway that regulates inflammation
Mar 11, 2009 |
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Inflammation, the body's earliest response to damage or infection, can aid the healing process and trigger an immune response against invading pathogens. But inflammation gone awry can also undermine health, ...
Children with inflammatory bowel disease have surprisingly high folate levels, study finds
Jan 24, 2009 |
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Children with newly diagnosed cases of inflammatory bowel disease have higher concentrations of folate in their blood than individuals without IBD, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, ...
Transparent zebrafish a must-see model for atherosclerosis
Mar 05, 2009 |
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We usually think of fish as a "heart-healthy" food. Now fish are helping researchers better understand how heart disease develops in studies that could lead to new drugs to slow disease and prevent heart ...
New clues on the link between Heliobacter pylori and stomach cancer
May 08, 2009 |
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Heliobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is considered one of the most important risk factors for stomach (or gastric) cancer with as much as 65% of all cases linked back to the bacteria, although exactly ...
Cancer drug causes patient to lose fingerprints and be detained by US immigration
May 27, 2009 |
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Immigration officials held a cancer patient for four hours before they allowed him to enter the USA because one of his cancer drugs caused his fingerprints to disappear. His oncologist is now advising all cancer patients ...
Altered micriobiome prevalent in the diseased esophagus
Aug 01, 2009 |
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Gastroesophageal reflux diseases , or GERD, affects about 10 million people in the United States, yet the cause and an unexpected increase in its prevalence over the last three decades remains unexplainable. Now, researchers ...
