Inflammation in the Body

Patrick Kelly (5 minutes)

Published by: Seeker - January -2021

There is always marketing claiming a new product reduces inflammation, but inflammation is a natural biological process, and we need at least some of it to keep us safe. In this episode, Patrick explains the inflammatory response and why it's necessary for our survival.

From just living and being a human, you’re probably familiar with the five signs of inflammation firsthand: heat, redness, swelling, pain, and loss of function. And they range from mildly annoying to seriously debilitating but they actually serve a specific role in protecting you from further harm and kicking off the healing process. Contrary to what some may think, the increased heat is not there to try to bake the infectious agent. It’s there because the blood vessels around the inflamed body part expanded, bringing more blood to that area.

That’s also why the area gets more red. You’re passing more red blood cells through the inflamed tissue. Just like how your cheeks get warm and red when you blush — our blood is warm, and with more blood flow, we feel more heat. Along with more blood, the vessels that transport that blood expand and become more permeable, which fills that area with fluid and shows up externally as swelling. Pain comes from stimulation of pain receptors from the initial injury or from the inflammatory response itself.

Finally, the loss of function could come from either the increased swelling which reduces mobility, or from healthy tissue being replaced with less flexible scar tissue over time. And that’s only what we see from the outside. Our immune systems orchestrate all these different chemical messengers called cytokines.

Voice by: Ashley Fleming (5 minutes)

Published by: Alila Medical Media - October 2019

(USMLE topics) Process of Acute inflammation. Pro-inflammatory and Anti-inflammatory Factors.

Full Text Below

Inflammation is the body’s protective response against infections or injuries. Inflammation mobilizes defensive cells to the site of injury, limits the spread of pathogens, eliminates them, and initiates tissue repair. Inflammation can occur in any organ, but is most common, and also most easily observable in the skin and underlying tissues. Typical signs include redness, heat, swelling and pain. Inflammation is an important defense mechanism, but it can be a double-edged sword when things go wrong. An autoimmune disease may result when inflammation targets and destroys the body’s own cells. An acute inflammation that fails to stop after the original insult is cleared, can become chronic and damaging to healthy tissues.

Acute inflammation is initiated when tissue-resident immune cells, such as macrophages, encounter an inflammatory stimulus. This stimulus can be a pathogen, a toxin, or an injured host cell. Binding of the stimulus to its receptor on the immune cell triggers a signaling cascade that activates production of cytokines and other inflammatory mediators.

Inflammatory chemicals dilate blood vessels, increasing blood flow and enhancing vessel permeability, allowing plasma fluid and more immune cells to seep through and accumulate in the inflamed tissue. This vasodilation is responsible for clinical signs of inflammation such as redness, heat and swelling.

The infiltration of blood components into the injured tissue occurs in 3 phases. The first phase is the exudation of plasma fluid containing various antimicrobial mediators, platelets and blood clotting factors. These factors can destroy microbes and stop any bleeding that may have occurred.

The second phase is the infiltration of neutrophils – the major phagocytes involved in first-line defense. Once activated by inflammatory mediators, endothelial cells of blood vessels become adhesive, they attach to neutrophils in blood flow, slowing them down, before getting them to squeeze through the vessel wall. Chemical cues guide neutrophils to the battle field, where they engulf bacteria and destroy them with enzymes or toxic peroxides. Neutrophils may also release highly reactive oxygen species in a phenomenon known as oxidative burst, which kills pathogens faster and more efficiently. The pathogen-laden neutrophils then die via apoptosis.

In the third phase arrive monocytes. Monocytes differentiate into macrophages, which then remove pathogens, injured cells and dying neutrophils by phagocytosis. Macrophages that have completed their mission are cleared from the tissue by the lymphatic system. Accumulation of fluid increases pressure on lymphatic capillaries, forcing open their one-way valves, facilitating lymphatic drainage. Lymph containing debris-laden macrophages passes through a number of lymph nodes and is filtered clean before it returns to the bloodstream.

Once the site is cleared from the original insult, immune cells stop producing pro-inflammatory chemicals and, instead, start producing anti-inflammatory mediators, which actively drive the termination of inflammation. Many of these anti-inflammatory molecules are lipids, some of which are synthesized from dietary omega-3 fatty acids. This step is essential in ensuring the favorable outcome of inflammation. Failure to resolve inflammation leads to development of chronic inflammation which continuously deals damage to healthy tissues. Chronic inflammation is a known contributing factor to pathogenesis of a wide variety of conditions including cardiovascular diseases, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, and even cancer.

Kait Malthaner (10 minutes)

Published by: Health Coach Kait - September 2020

Chronic inflammation is the root cause of all modern-day diseases including heart disease, diabetes and arthritis. But how can you know if you suffer from chronic inflammation and how can you reduce it?

Lacey Baier (6 minutes)

Published by: Lacey Baier - September 2020

The term “inflammation” gets thrown around a lot nowadays, but do you know what it really is and what it’s doing to your body? In this video, I not only explain what is inflammation, but also tell you the symptoms to look out for to avoid chronic inflammation. Plus, you’ll learn the best ways to reduce inflammation with anti-inflammatory foods and behaviors, so you can feel healthy and pain-free again!

Dr. Gary Fettke (35 minutes)

Published by: Low Carb Down Under -

Dr. Gary Fettke is an Orthopaedic Surgeon practising in Launceston, Australia. Along with his wife Belinda, Gary has also opened the 'Nutrition for Life – Diabetes and Health Research Centre' based in Launceston which provides nutritional care around Tasmania and Australia.

Gary has a longstanding interest in the preventative aspects of health outcomes, particularly before operating on his patients. Recently an AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) investigation into Gary’s qualifications to give nutritional advice has concluded. This investigation (which lasted for more than two years) has resulted in Gary being issued a ‘caution’.

The Medical Board of Tasmania, under the umbrella of the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority, have advised him; ”In particular, that he does not provide specific advice or recommendations on the subject of nutrition and how it relates to the management of diabetes or the treatment and/or prevention of cancer.”

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