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 inflammation
Key player identified in cascade that leads to hypertension-related kidney damage
Nov 05, 2009 |
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A key player in a cascade that likely begins with stress and leads to high blood pressure and kidney damage has been identified by researchers who say the finding may lead to better ways to control both.
Obesity significantly cuts odds of successful pregnancy
Nov 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Obese women are as much as 28 percent less likely to become pregnant and have a successful pregnancy, according to research that earned a Michigan State University professor a national award.
Possible origins of pancreatic cancer revealed
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- MIT cancer biologists have identified a subpopulation of cells that can give rise to pancreatic cancer. They also found that tumors can form in other, more mature pancreatic cell types, but ...
Why fish oils help and how they could help even more
Oct 28, 2009 |
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New research from Queen Mary, University of London and Harvard Medical School has revealed precisely why taking fish oils can help with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.
Manipulating brain inflammation may help clear brain of amyloid plaques
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 22, 2009 |
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In a surprising reversal of long-standing scientific belief, researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have discovered that inflammation in the brain is not the trigger that leads to buildup of amyloid deposits and ...
Protein may predict heart attack and early death, not stroke
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 19, 2009 |
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People with high levels of a protein called C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation in the blood, may be at higher risk for heart attack and death but not stroke, according to a study published in the October ...
New study identifies cellular mechanism that causes lupuslike symptoms in mice
Oct 18, 2009 |
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Macrophages, the scavenger cells of the body's immune system, are responsible for disposing of dying cells. Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have identified one pathway in this important process in mice ...
New therapy for vasculitis will help patients avoid infertility and cancer
Oct 18, 2009 |
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Researchers have identified that Rituxan, a drug previously approved for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's B cell lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis, can treat severe ANCA-associated vasculitis as effectively as cyclophosphamide, ...
Scientists remove amyloid plaques from brains of live animals with Alzheimer's disease
Oct 15, 2009 |
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A breakthrough discovery by scientists from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, may lead to a new treatment for Alzheimer's Disease that actually removes amyloid plaques -- considered a hallmark of the disease -- from patients' ...
Effects of aspirin and folic acid on inflammation markers for colorectal adenomas
Oct 12, 2009 |
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Unexpectedly, inflammation markers do not appear to be involved with the chemopreventative effect of aspirin on colorectal adenomas, according to a brief communication published online October 12 in the Journal of the Na ...
Discovery of genetic defect may lead to better treatments for common gut diseases
Oct 08, 2009 |
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New findings related to an uncommon genetic disorder may impact the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the most common chronic gastrointestinal illness in children and teens. Two ...
Exercise programs recommended as standard for rheumatoid arthritis
Oct 07, 2009 |
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Exercise programs designed to improve strength and stamina are safe and effective treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. The researchers reviewed dynamic exercise program ...
Elevated lymphotoxin expression in liver leads to chronic hepatitis and causes HCC
Oct 05, 2009 |
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A recent study maps the pathway that leads from infection with Hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV) to chronic hepatitis and liver cancer and proposes a new therapeutic strategy for treating liver diseases with chronic inflammation. ...
Link between male diabetics with allergies and kidney disease -- nothing to sneeze at
Oct 01, 2009 |
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For men with type 2 diabetes, a cell type linked to allergic inflammation is closely linked to a key indicator of diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy), suggests a study in the November Clinical Journal of the American So ...
Ulcerative colitis treatment reduces need for surgery by almost half
Oct 01, 2009 |
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A new study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has found that ulcerative colitis patients had a 41 percent reduction in colectomy after a year when treated with infliximab, according to a study published in the October 2009 issue ...
