Dr. Hellen Greenblatt

The Importance of Inflammation in Wound Healing

Immediately after the body is injured, it starts the processes of stopping blood loss, restoring function, and preventing infection from pathogens on the skin or objects that may have caused the damage. The microenvironment of the injured area is in constant flux with the host cells continuously responding to the fluids, bacteria, and the dead and dying cells at the wound site.

One of the first phases of the healing process is for circulating platelets to attach to a fibrous scaffold, a matrix, to stop blood flow. Platelets, recently defined as immune cells, release cytokines, immune messengers, which permit cells to communicate with one another.

Once the flow of blood ceases, specialized immune cells enter the area setting up an inflammatory response that “cleans” the wound site and removes bacteria, damaged tissues, and foreign matter. In order to achieve the appropriate levels of inflammation, many complex cell-to-cell interactions occur in specific order.

Accumulation of fluids, exudates, results from inflammation, along with swelling at the wound site. Exudates are essential for the healing process and contain debris, inflammatory cells, bacteria, and a large variety of immune proteins. Depending on their concentrations, factors may enhance healing or interfere with the process. Proteins found in exudates have a variety of functions including regulation of inflammatory responses, triggering growth of new blood vessels, and stimulating growth of new cells.

A delicate balance of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory messengers is crucial and it determines the pace, and outcome of healing. Homeostatic, balanced, inflammatory responses are essential. Too little, too great, or too lengthy of an inflammatory response damages healthy tissue and delays healing.

The remodeling phase is one where tissues regenerate and close the wound. Closure occurs as cells cross-link and organize themselves attaching to a scaffold, a matrix that will draw edges of the skin closed and cover the area.

Poorly Healing Wounds

The presence of bacteria, foreign bodies, a lack of oxygen in the tissues, and/or fragments of necrotic, dead, tissue can stimulate inflammatory cells continuously, resulting in uncontrolled inflammation and wounds that heal poorly.

Infection of a wound site also interferes with proper healing. Communities of bacteria tend to organize themselves into a biofilm, a thin sheet of bacteria. Biofilms increase survival of bacteria colonies, reducing chances that inflammatory immune responses, or antibiotics, can control them.

Exudates in poor healing wounds contain an over abundance of inflammatory cells and immune mediators that increase inflammation. Sufficient anti-inflammatory factors to control the damaging effects of excessive inflammation may not be available.

Proteolysis is another one of the steps required for healthy healing. This is an event during which the body degrades necrotic tissue, and dead and dying pathogens. [Think of proteolysis as an acid/enzyme reaction that breaks down tissues.] When immune cells release too many proteolytic proteins over a longer period, they become destructive of healthy tissue, and the body’s ability to heal the wound is overwhelmed.

Individuals with non-healing skin ulcers, such as those found in diabetics, not only struggle with excessive inflammatory responses, but their proteolytic enzyme levels are significantly elevated giving rise to further imbalances in inflammatory responses and interference with the body’s repair mechanisms.

Summary

The sensitive balance between stimulating and inhibitory mediators during diverse repair of wound is crucial to achieving tissue homeostasis following injury. Once unbalanced and excessive inflammation is controlled, will healing begin.

There is no fee for speaking with Dr. Hellen. She may be contacted by using this form or at: 302.265.3870 (ET).

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25750642
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www.bioscience.org/2004/v9/af/1184/2.htm
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3467878

anti-inflammatory, balance, biofilm, cytokines, healing, immune homeostasis, immune system, infection, inflammation, inflammatory responses, injuries, matrix, pro-inflammatory, trauma, wounds

The Role of Inflammation in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) occurs in some individuals that are exposed to emotionally disturbing events such as combat, rocket, and terrorist attacks. Individuals that have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) or experienced natural disasters and sexual assault are also at higher risk of having this disorder.

Symptoms may include quality of life issues such as explosive outbursts of anger, difficulties in concentrating, being easily startled, feeling constantly “on guard”, expecting a threat to occur at any moment, depression, problems sleeping, avoiding people and circumstances that can trigger unpleasant memories or outbursts, limiting emotional relationships, and avoiding crowded locations.

Up to twenty percent of veterans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, 10% of Gulf War (Desert Storm), and 30% of Vietnam Veterans have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

PTSD is not only a psychiatric issue. Individuals suffering with PTSD are at higher risk of being physically ill, and at increased risk of death from a multiple of causes.

PTSD is Associated with Inflammatory Responses.
Clinical studies suggest that individuals with post-traumatic stress disorders suffer from chronic low-level inflammation. This is reflected in their greater propensity to have inflammation-associated diseases such as autoimmune, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and respiratory diseases.

A combination of high blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure, coupled with excess fat around the abdomen (abdominal visceral fat), increases the risk of individuals for stroke, heart disease, and diabetes. This cluster of symptoms, metabolic syndrome, is associated with inflammation and is found in 48% of individuals with post traumatic stress syndrome compared to 25% of controls. Such clinical issues result in patients with PTSD utilizing a greater proportion of medical services and prescription medications.

IL-6 is a cytokine, an immune messenger, which plays a major role in inflammation, helping the body heal after tissue injury, and defending the body from pathogens. C-reactive protein (CRP) is another biological marker that is strongly related to heightened levels of inflammation. Elevated levels of IL-6 and CRP are associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular events that are inflammatory in nature.

Reports of increased presence of inflammatory cytokines in individuals with PTSD are inconsistent. However, the evidence suggests in military personnel with PTSD or depression, IL-6 levels are higher than found in control subjects, and that the quality of life of these soldiers is poorer as well. Similarly, individuals with PTSD are more likely to have significantly higher amounts of circulating CRP than those not diagnosed with PTSD.

Intermittent explosive disorder is one of the more troubling aspects of some individuals with post traumatic stress disorder. This condition involves repeated episodes of impulsive, angry, verbal outbursts, and violent and aggressive behavior. CRP and IL-6 levels are significantly higher in personnel with intermittent explosive disorder compared with normal or other psychiatric controls, suggesting a direct relationship between inflammation and aggression.

Summary:
Fifty percent of individuals with post traumatic stress syndrome do not seek treatment, and of those that do, only half of these persons will get “minimally adequate” treatment. Until now, the primary treatments for PSTD are psychological counseling and psychiatric medications.

Inflammation is the result of a delicate balance between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses, and the body constantly strives to maintain a state of “immune homeostasis”, immune balance.

As in most disease, chronic low-grade inflammation is a likely contributor to post traumatic stress syndrome. If individuals with PTSD better controlled the amount of inflammation produced by their bodies, their quality of life would improve, both emotionally and physically.

There is no cost to speak with Dr. Hellen. She can be reached at 1.302-265.3870 ET [USA] or contacted at: drhellen@drhellengreenblatt.info.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23806967
www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
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circ.ahajournals.org/content/101/15/1767.full
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www.hindawi.com/journals/cherp/2012/490804/

Afghanistan, aggression, anger, anti-inflammatory, autoimmune, balance, C-reactive protein, chronic disease, combat, cytokines, depression, fat cells, Gulf War, healing, IL-6, immune homeostasis, immune system, infection, inflammation, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, inflammatory responses, injuries, Iraq, metabolic syndrome, military, Obesity, post-traumatic stress disorder, pro-inflammatory, PTSD, QOL, terrorist, veterans, visceral fat

Inflammation Is the Root Cause of Arthritis

Nearly every day people tell me that their joints are swollen and stiff, they hurt all over, and that they look and feel older than their chronological age. Most of these individuals have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthritis is a sign of a “boosted” immune system with excessive inflammation leading to joint damage. People report pain in areas such as their backs, fingers, hands, wrists, knees, and shoulders.

Rheumatoid arthritis typically affects the joints of the body. However sometimes even before joint symptoms appear, rheumatoid arthritis can involve other parts of the body including the lungs or eyes. Long-term inflammation of the lungs leads to scarring and shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, and an on-going, chronic dry cough. If the pleura, the tissues around the lungs, become inflamed, fluid buildup may result in fever, pain when taking a breath, and difficulty in breathing.

Inflammation Is Essential for Our Survival:
Clinicians, and most lay people, focus on the harmful aspects of inflammation and try to stop the inflammatory response at all costs. Instead, all that is needed is to control the this immune response. The process of inflammation is normal, protective, and absolutely essential for our survival. Inflammation is the first step to healing after an injury or when the body is gathering its forces to stop an infection. Immune inflammation also helps the body destroy cancer cells before they grow and multiply.

When the body recognizes it has been injured or infected, the immune system releases antibodies and cytokines, smaller proteins that attract different types of immune cells into an area, to help eliminate and destroy threats to the body.

Once healing has started, the amount of inflammation that the body produces must be controlled. The genes that control inflammation have to be “turned off”, down-regulated, so that inflammatory responses are limited.

Arthritis is an Autoimmune Disorder:
Arthritis is one of many autoimmune disorders in which the body mistakenly produces autoantibodies, antibodies against its own tissues that attach to joint linings, and cartilage which acts as a shock absorber. The presence of autoantibodies may trigger immune cells to release inflammatory molecules that cause damage to the joints and other organ systems.

The Effect of Stress and Weight on Arthritis:
There are many factors that contribute to the discomfort experienced by individuals with joint issues. Two of these most recently investigated are: stress and weight.

Stress:
The body increases the amount of inflammation it produces when it is exposes to constant stress and the stress of pain. It becomes part of a vicious cycle. Stress causes inflammation, and inflammation leads to more stress. There is crosstalk between the nervous, hormonal, and immune systems. Changes in one system effects the other system.

Stressed individuals suffering from rheumatoid arthritis produce much higher levels of most cytokines than people without arthritis. Immunologically they respond differently to stress.

Weight Issues:
Overweight and obese patients with rheumatoid arthritis have more pain and respond less well to medication, as compared to normal weight patients. Obesity is an inflammatory disease during which fat cells, especially those concentrated around the inner organs, pump out large numbers of inflammatory molecules. Certain inflammatory proteins are found in high number in the abdominal fat tissue of overweight and obese individuals.

Importance of Immune Balance/Immune Homeostasis:
Immune inflammation is tightly regulated by the body. It consists of a) triggering and maintaining inflammatory responses, and b) producing immune messages that decrease and/or entirely stop the inflammation. Imbalances between the two phases of inflammation results in unchecked inflammation, loss of immune homeostasis, and may result in cell and tissues damage like that experienced in rheumatoid arthritis.

The key is to incorporate lifestyle changes to help the body maintain immune balance.

Help your body return to immune balance. Dr. Hellen may be contacted at: 302.265.3870 ET USA, or use the contact form. Thank you.

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/arthritis/basics/definition/con-20034095
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2003/10_17_03.html
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24846478
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ard.bmj.com/content/early/2014/05/12/annrheumdis-2013-205094
www.fasebj.org/content/27/12/4757

anti-inflammatory, antibodies, arthritis, autoimmune, balance, cytokines, exercise, fat cells, healing, immune homeostasis, immune system, immunoglobulins, infection, inflammation, inflammatory responses, injuries, joint pain, multiple sclerosis, Obesity, pain, pro-inflammatory

Ventilators Can Result in Excessive Inflammation of Already-Damaged Lungs

People with serious lung problems who are unable to breathe for themselves, for example, patients in intensive care units recovering from injuries, or who have viral, or bacterial infections, like pneumonia, may be placed on mechanical ventilation.

Although these patients may require a ventilator, too often these devices make their lung conditions worse. Patients with lung injuries that require mechanical ventilation lead to more deaths annually than do breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

For years, scientists have known that when lungs are exposed to rhythmic pressure of ventilation, the production of cytokines, immune messengers, are stimulated. This excessive production of cytokines results in “boosted” levels of inflammation in the lungs that may damage the lungs, even after ventilation has been stopped. Excessive inflammation can lead to the destruction of formerly healthy organ systems.

It is as if the immune system sees “pressure” as a “foreign agent” an event against which the body much be protected. The pressure appears to trigger an immune inflammatory response in the body.

This phenomenon can be seen even at the cellular level. Exposing cells in a test tube to as few as four hours of rhythmic pressures results in increased levels of inflammatory cytokines that recruit more inflammatory immune cells into the area. Twelve (12) hours of ventilation-type treatment results in a 5-7 times increase in the levels of inflammatory cytokines.

During winter months, respiratory infections are the most frequent cause of intensive care unit hospitalizations for infants. For some infections, Infants that are on mechanical ventilators have significantly higher levels of lung inflammation than infants not being ventilated. However, even in healthy children, mechanical ventilation triggers an inflammatory response within hours.

For over a decade I have tried to educate the public about the need for the body to maintain immune inflammatory homeostasis, immune balance; having enough inflammation to do the job, but not so much that it causes damage.

Inflammation is necessary for our survival to protect us from infections, and it is the first step the body takes when it heals itself, for example, after an injury.

But the amount of inflammation produced by the body must be tightly limited, because too much inflammation is like an uncontrollable forest fire.

One of my greatest frustrations has been trying to help medical practitioners understand that inappropriate inflammation is the foundation of most of their patients’ problems, but too often, “they just couldn’t get it”. Now, every journal, every magazine touts the fact that “inflammation is the root cause of disease”. They admit that it has a role in cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal, emotional problems etc. and that inflammatory responses play a major role in cancer.

It has been my experience that when individuals have major health issues, “following the levels of inflammation” will help explain what is happening to the patient. In cases of mechanical ventilation, other procedures and conditions, what would be the harm in taking steps to limit uncontrolled levels of inflammation, and help return the body to immune homeostasis?

Dr. Greenblatt looks forward to assisting you in returning to immune balance: She can be contacted at: http://drhellengreenblatt.info/contact-dr-hellen or 1.302-265.3870 [USA, ET]. Thank you.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24349427
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3859624/
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researchnews.osu.edu/archive/lungvent.htm
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www.medicine.uiowa.edu/Newsarticle.aspx?id=22193
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK6868/

anti-inflammatory, balance, chronic disease, cytokines, healing, immune homeostasis, immune system, inflammation, injuries, lungs, pro-inflammatory, Ventilators

Alcohol Abuse, Immune Balance, and Inflammation

Alcoholism is a condition in which individuals drink alcohol in excess despite the fact that their habit causes physical and mental health problems, and social, family, and/or job-related issues. Heavy alcohol consumption results in damage to many parts of the body including the brain, liver, digestive system, and joints. Alcoholics also suffer with dementia, memory loss, depression, emotional instability, and are at increased risk of cancer of the colon, liver, and esophagus.

Immune System Effects

Prolonged, heavy alcohol consumption negatively affects immune cells and their production of cytokines, immune messages. Alcoholics have significantly higher rates of bacterial and viral infections and when hospitalized remain hospitalized longer than those that do not abuse alcohol. Alcohol not only kills key immune cells, but excess amounts of alcohol results in an increased risk of autoimmune responses in which the body’s immune cells mistakenly attack the body’s own healthy cells as foreign.

The body constantly strives to maintain immune inflammatory homeostasis; to balance the amount of inflammation it produces to protect the body from infection. Imbalances of inflammatory responses, loss of immune homeostasis, result from excessive alcohol consumption. For example, white cells, immune cells, search out and destroy and remove pathogens from the lungs. After alcohol consumption, fewer immune cells respond to the call for “help”. Those cells that do enter the lungs are unable to kill microbes as effectively as cells from non-alcoholic animals.

The inefficient immune responses of alcoholics lead them to be more vulnerable to viral infections such as hepatitis C, influenza, and HIV and bacterial infections including tuberculosis and pneumonia. Especially after experiencing trauma, e.g., surgery, alcoholics are more likely than non-alcoholics to get pneumonia.

A mouse study is one of many that demonstrates the decreased ability of alcohol-imbibing animals to fend off infection. Sixty percent of mice that were exposed to the flu after imbibing alcohol for two months died of the flu as compared to a 15% mortality rate of mice that had not been drinking alcohol prior to exposure.

Hormone Effects:

Cortisol, the “stress-response hormone” affects nervous, immune, circulatory, and metabolic systems of the body. After surgery, chronic alcoholics have higher cortisol levels compared to non-alcoholic patients. The increased inflammation that accompanies stress also leads to higher levels of depression, other addictions, and mood disorders.

Other hormones effected by alcohol consumption are those a)that may interfere with the a women’s menstrual cycle, b) the ability for men and women to enjoy sex, or c) control blood sugar.

Nervous System Complications:

Alcohol is neuro-toxic to brain cells interfering with the development, repair, and communication of nerve cells. Consumption of large amounts of alcohol leads to shrinkage of white matter in the brain, adding to depression, confusion, short-term memory loss, “fuzzy” thinking, and a greater risk of getting dementia. Alcohol also directly affects the nervous system in other ways, causing numbness, tingling, and pain in hands and feet.

Additionally, too great a consumption of alcohol, especially over a long period of time, results in problems with absorption of nutrients, the lack of which can become so severe that certain forms of dementia are triggered.

Bone Loss

Alcohol damages osteoblasts, the cells needed to grow and maintain bone. Destruction of osteoblasts results in decreased bone mass and susceptibility to fractures and other orthopedic problems. When a bone fracture occurs, immune cells rush in to start the healing process. They release immune signals, cytokines that start the inflammatory process that recruits more cells into the area. However, when there is too much inflammation, healing, and bone growth is delayed with the result that bones become brittle, thin, or misshapen.

Vitamin B12, vitamin D, phosphate, and magnesium are needed to grow bone. Excessive intake of alcohol is associated with low or subnormal levels of these elements, further inhibiting the growth of and repair of bones.

Skin and Injuries

The cells in the skin help defend the body from pathogens, and keep the skin healthy, youthful, and supple. The immune cells in the skin interact with the microbes that live on the surface. Although the numbers of bacteria on healthy skin stays constant, the types of bacteria that exist change depending on environmental and immune interactions

Heavy use of alcohol significantly slows the movement of immune cells, upsetting the balance, the homeostasis of the skin. Alcoholics experience a greater number of severe skin infections than individuals that drink responsibly.

Almost half of all patients coming into an emergency room with an injury, trauma cases, have high levels of alcohol in their blood. Drunken patients have more severe symptoms, and take longer to recover. They also have higher rates of death as compared to non-intoxicated patients.

Because these patients have imbalances of inflammatory response, it takes them longer to heal, and wounds may become more severe, more quickly. Alcohol damage to the skin continues even after they stop drinking. Alcoholics experience longer hospital stays, especially if they are patients in an intensive care unit.

In a study of two groups of animals with burns, 50% of the animals that had not consumed alcohol survived, compared to 20% of the alcohol-consuming animals.

Summary:

Although not discussed in this post, moderate intake of alcohol has a beneficial effect on inflammatory markers. However, heavy drinking results in uncontrolled amounts of inflammation leading to a myriad of health consequences. Controlling the amount of inflammation the body produces will make a major difference in the quality of life of an individual.

Some steps abusers of alcohol can take to help their body modulate inflammation are:

Limit the number of drinks consumed*
Exercise 30 minutes/day for 5 days a week (150 minute minimum/week)
Have smaller food portion sizes.
Consume more fruits and vegetables.

*It is recommended that women limit their alcohol intake to one drink** per day, and men to two drinks/day. [Women absorb and metabolize alcohol differently from men and are more susceptible to alcohol-related organ damage and trauma than men.]

**One drink is defined as 1.5 fluid ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits, 12 ounces of beer, or 5 ounces of wine (a pinot noir wine glass about 1/4 full).

Dr. Greenblatt looks forward to assisting you in reaching your goals: http://drhellengreenblatt.info/contact-dr-hellen or 1.302-265.3870 [USA, ET].

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pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/10report/chap04b.pdf
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23981442

alcoholism, anti-inflammatory, autoimmune, balance, cancer, chronic disease, cytokines, depression, exercise, gut, healing, immune homeostasis, immune system, infection, inflammation, inflammatory responses, injuries, joint pain, microbes, pro-inflammatory

THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION: INFLAMMATION AND DEPRESSION

Exposure to chronic constant emotional or physical stress triggers a vicious cycle of inflammation. The stress increases the amount of inflammation that the body generates, and the additional inflammation “feeds” more stress.

Depressed individuals report that they experience high levels of tension and anxiety, fatigue, muscle discomfort, and/or gastrointestinal problems. Often they have a feeling that “something is very wrong”, but they cannot pinpoint what is bothering them.

Individuals suffering from depression often start by visiting physicians that specialize in specific organ systems of the body. For example a neurologist (specialty in the nerves), a gastroenterologist (digestive system), or a psychiatrist (medical doctor) or a psychologist, practitioners specializing in mental disorders. Unfortunately, most of these experts tend to focus on a single part of the body.

Since the human body is a single organism, and all the organ systems are integrated, it might be useful to realize that there is substantial and constant cross talk between all the organ systems of the body. Affect one part of the body and it has a ripple effect on all the other parts of the body.

As an example, when individuals are depressed, their immune cells produce large amounts of inflammatory molecules, pro-inflammatory cytokines, which circulate throughout the body. Since cytokines act in a hormone-like fashion, they affect all parts of the body and the brain.

Treatment Resistant Depression
Over seven million individuals with depression find little or no relief that prescribed antidepressant medications. A significant number of these patients have high levels of inflammatory cytokines, immune messages that result in inflammation. These inflammatory cytokines can interfere with the actions of medications.
Lifestyle Changes.

Too many individuals are convinced that only prescription medications can make a difference in their depression and anxiety. However, there are certain life style changes that may help them, with their clinician’s approval, decrease their medication.*

(*Note: The following lifestyle changes should only be incorporated after consultation with a qualified health practitioner. If you are on prescription medications, especially for depression or anxiety, DO NOT REDUCE OR STOP ANY MEDICATIONS without consulting with the prescribing health practitioner.)

Some naturally oriented steps that one can take are:

EXERCISE:
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, found that a brisk 30-minute walk or jog three times a week may be just as effective in relieving major depression as are antidepressant prescription medications. Patients were assigned to three groups: antidepressant medications only, exercise only, or a combination of both medication and exercise. The scientists found that the exercise by itself was just as effective as medication and “was equally effective in reducing depression…” as were antidepressants.

One reason exercise may be so effective in reducing the inflammatory-depression cycle is that every time a muscle contracts, it releases anti-inflammatory immune cytokines that reduce inflammation and a help to decrease anxiety, and improve mood.
SUNSHINE AND FRESH AIR:
The amount of time subjects are exposed to sunlight is directly related to the amount of a specific inflammatory cytokine they produce, and depressed individuals show differing levels of the cytokine when exposed to light for varying amounts of time.
Moderate exposure to sunshine and fresh air may contribute greatly to feeling less depressed. This may “simply” be because when one is exposed to sunlight, vitamin D is produced by the body.

Vitamin D is more like a “hormone” than a purely nutritional element, since it affects hundreds of genes and is a powerful immune system regulator. Although still not definitively proven, individuals living in temperate areas may find that taking vitamin D3 supplements may prove helpful.

EAT SMARTER:
Increase the amount of fresh and colorful fruits and vegetables, beans, fish, and chicken. Limit non-nutritious “foods”, especially fried foods, sweets, sodas (diet or regular!), white rice, and pasta. Eating in a nutritional manner may help the body regulate its daily inflammatory responses.

CONTROL YOUR WEIGHT:
Fat cells, adipose cells, especially those around abdomen produce a wide range of inflammatory cytokines. As the size of the cells decrease, the amount of inflammation that the body produces decreases. Lowering inflammation helps an individual to return to their natural immune homeostasis, their natural immune balance.

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS FROM FISH OILS:
Studies suggest that daily consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from fish makes a difference in depression. In a recent randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study of shift workers, supplementation with omega-3 was associated with a reduction in high sensitivity C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker) and depression. In another study of women, the highest intake of omega-3 was associated with a 49% decrease in symptoms of depression. In the latter study, investigators suggested that omega-3 was triggering the production of anti-inflammatory compounds.

RETURN THE BODY TO IMMUNE BALANCE, IMMUNE HOMEOSTASIS:
Inflammation in the body is a normal and desired process that is part of the healing cycle and it is the primary method by which the body defends itself from pathogens. The key to good health is to help the body achieve the right level of inflammation, immune homeostasis. We want the body to produce enough of an inflammatory response to defend itself from pathogens and cancerous cells, but not so much inflammation that healthy tissues are damaged.

Hyperimmune egg has been shown to help the body return to immune homeostasis, immune balance. In a university, double-blind placebo-controlled trial (the gold standard of human trials), subjects consuming hyperimmune egg reported lower levels of moodiness, anger, and hostility. [Med Sci Sports Exer 2009 5:228].

SUMMARY
Chronic inflammation, brought about by an over-expression or lack of control of the normal protective mechanisms of the body, has been linked to range of conditions including depression.
Individuals who control inflammatory responses will have a much higher emotional and physical quality of life.

anti-inflammatory, balance, C-reactive protein, chronic disease, cytokines, depression, exercise, fat cells, fatigue, gut, healing, hyperimmune egg, immune homeostasis, immune system, inflammation, inflammatory responses, pro-inflammatory

Immune Homeostasis with Limited Inflammation, Lowers Melanoma Risk?

| Posted by in Cancer | Chronic Disease | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation - (0 Comments)

Studies conducted over the years have shown numerous benefits of using aspirin, a compound with potent
anti-inflammatory properties. If aspirin were discovered today, it would probably be available only through prescription, and cost us 10-40 fold more than we pay for it today.

Additionally, in the area of cancer, laboratory studies suggest that certain anti-inflammatory drugs may prevent certain types of cancers. However, human clinical trials on the efficacy of aspirin for reducing the risk of cancer, and its ability to make a difference in the course of cancer, are uncertain.

Dr. Jean Tang and her colleagues at Stanford University School of Medicine, CA. recently published a study examining how daily intake of aspirin effects the risk of getting melanoma, a deadly type of skin cancer. A study of 60,000 Caucasian women [lighter-skinned individuals are at greater risk of getting skin cancer] ran for an average of 12 years and involved women 50 years to 79 years of age.

Women who took aspirin twice weekly had on average, a 21 %reduction in their risk of getting melanoma compared to those who did not use aspirin regularly. Women who had taken aspirin twice weekly for at least 5 years had a 30% lower chance of getting melanoma. Other pain relievers such as acetaminophen (found in Tylenol) made no difference in melanoma rates.

Dr. Tang said, “There’s a lot of excitement about this because aspirin has already been shown to have protective effects on cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer in women”… “This is one more piece of the prevention puzzle.” Dr. Tang feels that the ability of aspirin to limit inflammation may contribute to its association in reducing the risk of cancer. In future studies, Dr. Tang is planning to see whether a similar association is holds for men.

Inflammation is necessary for healing and recovery, but run-away inflammation may be the main contributor to disease. Cancer is a two-way street. Inflammation feeds cancer and cancer feeds inflammation. We need enough of an immune response to stop the growth of cancer cells, but not so much that it “feeds” the growth of mutant cells.

Immune homeostasis, immune balance, is the key to excellent health. Control inappropriately high inflammatory responses of the immune system, and change the course of disease both for the present and in the future.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23589729
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anti-inflammatory, balance, cancer, healing, immune balance, immune homeostasis, inflammation, inflammatory responses, melanoma, recovery

Sprains, Strains, Injuries, and Inflammation

| Posted by in Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation | Injury and Trauma - (0 Comments)

Exercise is essential for workers such as firefighters and paramedics that have physically-and emotionally-demanding jobs, and is mandated by most departments.

According to a study by the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 30% of the strains and sprains that firefighters and paramedics experienced, happened as they were working out. Seventeen percent of injuries, and almost half of time off work for injuries, were caused by strains and sprains resulting from workers carrying individuals.

Pain and inflammation “feed one another”. Pain triggers more inflammation and inflammation leads to more pain. It is not clear how the body senses pain, nor biochemically, the exact events that lead to the sensation of pain. We know however, that pain signals from our back or limbs travel along nerve cells to the spinal cord and up to the brain, and that inflammation in the spinal cord and brain is either the direct cause of pain, or a major contributor to pain sensations that we experience.

When muscles and tissues are injured, immune cells respond by entering the area and releasing cellular factors (e.g., cytokines) that will up-regulate inflammation as a way to help the body heal.

However, it is as important for the body to decrease its inflammatory responses after a challenge is met, as it is to increase the response in the first place. Decreases in inflammatory responses, down-regulation, result from the production of different amounts of anti-inflammatory cytokines and their ratio to pro-inflammatory cytokines that cause inflammation. It all about the appropriate balance of immune responses, immune homeostasis.

(Please watch for the next posting discussing natural methods of helping the body achieve immune homeostasis, and recover, and heal faster.)

injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2011/11/03/injuryprev-2011
www.nature.com/nrneurol/journal/v7/n3/full/nrneurol.2011.4.html
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19096368
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22119349
www.gluegrant.org/inflammation101.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Curr%20Drug%20Targets%20Immune%20Endocr%20Metabol%20Disord%202005%205%3A413

balance, cytokines, exercise, firefighters, healing, immune homeostasis, immune system, inflammation, injuries, pain, paramedics, pro-inflammatory, sprains, strains