News tagged with inflammatory diseases

Large-scale genetic study defines relationship between primary sclerosing cholangitis and other autoimmune diseases

For the first time, scientists show that a leading cause of liver transplant, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), is a distinct disease from inflammatory bowel disease, opening up new avenues for specific PSC treatments.

Genetics created Apr 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Will cell therapy become a 'third pillar' of medicine?

Treating patients with cells may one day become as common as it is now to treat the sick with drugs made from engineered proteins, antibodies or smaller chemicals, according to UC San Francisco researchers. They outlined ...

Medical research created Apr 03, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers find link between blood clotting, immune response

Rice University researchers have found an unexpected link between a protein that triggers the formation of blood clots and other proteins that are essential for the body's immune system. The find could lead ...

Immunology created Apr 01, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study finds immunity protein that ramps up inflammation, and agents that can block it

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have discovered a new biological pathway of innate immunity that ramps up inflammation and then identified agents that can block it, leading to increased survival ...

Immunology created Mar 31, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Excess dietary salt identified as autoimmune trigger

For the past few decades, health officials have been reporting increases in the incidence of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Now researchers at Yale School of Medicine, Harvard Medical ...

Medical research created Mar 06, 2013 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (16) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

Link between inflammatory process and progression of Alzheimer's disease

An international team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the University of Bonn and the Center for Advanced European Studies and Research in Germany have shown that a well-known immune and ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created Dec 19, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study identifies a potential cause of Parkinson's disease

Deciphering what causes the brain cell degeneration of Parkinson's disease has remained a perplexing challenge for scientists. But a team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has pinpointed ...

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created Nov 19, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Discovery shows medications can treat inflammation without increasing risk for infection

In a discovery that can fundamentally change how drugs for arthritis, and potentially many other diseases, are made, University of Utah medical researchers have identified a way to treat inflammation while potentially minimizing ...

Inflammatory disorders created Nov 11, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Genetically engineered bacteria could help in Crohn's and colitis

(Medical Xpress)—A new study in mice has shown that genetically engineered bacteria can protect against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes a host of conditions including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Medical research created Nov 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

New genetic links for inflammatory bowel disease uncovered

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) – inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract – have puzzled the scientific community for decades. Ten years ago, researchers recognized that both genes and the ...

Genetics created Oct 31, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Immunologists find a molecule that puts the brakes on inflammation

(Medical Xpress)—We couldn't live without our immune systems, always tuned to detect and eradicate invading pathogens and particles. But sometimes the immune response goes overboard, triggering autoimmune ...

Immunology created Sep 28, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (11) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Antibiotics in childhood may increase bowel disease risk: study

(HealthDay)—Use of certain antibiotics may put children at higher risk for developing bowel diseases, new research has found.

Pediatrics created Sep 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Wnt5a protein critical to gut lining repair

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a protein essential to repairing the intestine's inner lining.

Medical research created Sep 06, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Targeting inflammation to treat depression

Researchers at Emory University have found that a medication that inhibits inflammation may offer new hope for people with difficult-to-treat depression. The study was published Sept. 3 in the online version of Archives of ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Sep 03, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (18) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Genes carried by E. coli bacteria linked to colon cancer

What if a key factor ultimately behind a cancer was not a genetic defect but ecological?

Cancer created Aug 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Inflammation

Inflammation (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.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.