Inflammation

The leading reference on this topic of increasing medical relevance is unique in offering unparalleled coverage. The editors are among the most respected researchers in inflammation worldwide and here have put together a prestigious team of contributors. Starting with the molecular basis of inflammation, from cytokines via the innate immune system to the different kinds of inflammatory cells, they continue with the function of inflammation in infectious disease before devoting a large section to the relationship between inflammation and chronic diseases. The book concludes with wound and tissue healing and options for therapeutic interventions. A must have for clinicians and biomedical researchers alike.

The acute inflammatory response is the body's first system of alarm signals that are directed toward containment and elimination of microbial invaders. Uncontrolled inflammation has emerged as a pathophysiologic basis for many widely occurring diseases in the general population. This book provides an introduction to the cell types, chemical mediators, and general mechanisms of the host's first response to invasion.

The microcirculation is highly responsive to, and a vital participant in, the inflammatory response. All segments of the microvasculature (arterioles, capillaries, and venules) exhibit characteristic phenotypic changes during inflammation that appear to be directed toward enhancing the delivery of inflammatory cells to the injured/infected tissue, isolating the region from healthy tissue and the systemic circulation, and setting the stage for tissue repair and regeneration. The best characterized responses of the microcirculation to inflammation include impaired vasomotor function, reduced capillary perfusion, adhesion of leukocytes and platelets, activation of the coagulation cascade, and enhanced thrombosis, increased vascular permeability, and an increase in the rate of proliferation of blood and lymphatic vessels. A variety of cells that normally circulate in blood (leukocytes, platelets) or reside within the vessel wall (endothelial cells, pericytes) or in the perivascular space (mast cells, macrophages) are activated in response to inflammation. The activation products and chemical mediators released from these cells act through different well-characterized signaling pathways to induce the phenotypic changes in microvessel function that accompany inflammation. Drugs that target a specific microvascular response to inflammation, such as leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion or angiogenesis, have shown promise in both the preclinical and clinical studies of inflammatory disease. Future research efforts in this area will likely identify new avenues for therapeutic intervention in inflammation. Table of Contents: Introduction / Historical Perspectives / Anatomical Considerations / Impaired Vasomotor Responses / Capillary Perfusion / Angiogenesis / Leukocyte-Endothelial Cell Adhesion / Platelet-Vessel Wall Interactions / Coagulation and Thrombosis / Endothelial Barrier Dysfunction / Epilogue / References

This well-structured and lavishly illustrated book is a comprehensive reference on intraocular inflammation that encompasses all anatomic forms, settings and etiologies. Individual sections are devoted to uveitis associated with systemic disorders, uveitis syndromes restricted to the eye, bacterial uveitis, viral uveitis, fungal uveitis, parasitic uveitis, uveitis caused by other microbes, traumatic uveitis, and masquerade syndromes. Chapters on the different forms of uveitis are in a homogeneous reader-friendly format, with identification of core messages, explanation of etiology and pathogenesis, up-to-date information on diagnostics and differential diagnosis and guidance on the most appropriate forms of treatment and prognosis. Helpful flow charts are included to assist in identification of potential underlying disorders and the reader will also have online access to one hundred informative case reports demonstrating the different courses of intraocular inflammation. The authors are world experts keen to share their vast experience with the reader. Intraocular Inflammation will be a valuable resource for all physicians who deal with patients with inflammatory eye disease.

This book provides readers with the most up-to-date information on cutting-edge research concerning chronic inflammation. We now know that when inflammation becomes chronic, it acts as a strong disease-promoting factor in a variety of disorders including arteriosclerosis, obesity, cancer, and Alzheimer disease. Chronic inflammation is hence called as the “silent killer”; it upsets the body’s homeostatic mechanism insidiously. In spite of these developments, we know very little about the mechanism underlying chronic inflammation. Particularly, we do not know precisely what induces chronic inflammation or what promotes its prolongation in a spatiotemporal framework. Neither do we have clear knowledge about how chronic inflammation destroys various tissues or how it predisposes individuals to many different diseases. To make the situation worse, we have no effective treatment against chronic inflammation. Since 2010, two major research programs (CREST and PRESTO) aimed at clarifying the mechanisms underlying chronic inflammation were launched in Japan, and investigators of different research areas with a brilliant track record were selected by their research proposals. Subsequently they have made their best efforts to answer the conundrum concerning chronic inflammation. This book is a compendium of such research efforts. In each chapter, the CREST- or PRESTO-funded researchers summarize their original work concerning mechanisms of induction, progression, or resolution underlying chronic inflammation. The most emphasized characteristic is the molecular aspect of chronic inflammation. The book thus presents the most recent progress made in the molecular understanding of chronic inflammation.

Did you know that virtually every health condition from asthma to irritable bowel syndrome is linked to inflammation? When inflammation gets out of control, the result is pain and discomfort—and it’s a phenomenon that’s on the rise. If you’re one of the millions of people who have been affected by allergies, diabetes, skin disorders, heart disease, arthritis, or any other condition ending in "-itis," then you know firsthand what havoc inflammation can cause. In Meals That Heal Inflammation, television personality and registered holistic nutritionist Julie Daniluk shows you how to conquer these health conditions with foods that will make you feel fantastic. This comprehensive book is packed with meals that can assist the body’s healing process—all while treating your taste buds to new and delicious flavors. The recipes, from healing teas to balanced meals and tempting desserts, are simple to make. Whether it’s the savory cranberry quinoa salad or the sumptuous key lime pie, every recipe in this book contains foods that naturally heal inflammation. Extensively researched and full of reference charts, diagnostic quizzes, food comparison lists, and the latest information about the healing properties of everyday foods, Meals That Heal Inflammation is an essential addition to every kitchen.

From the international bestselling author of Ketotarian comes a revolutionary new plan to discover the foods your unique body loves, hates, and needs to feel great. In Dr. Will Cole's game-changing new book, readers will discover how inflammation is at the core of most common health woes. What's more, it exists on a continuum: from mild symptoms such as weight gain and fatigue on one end, to hormone imbalance and autoimmune conditions on the other. How you feel is being influenced by every meal. Every food you eat is either feeding inflammation or fighting it. Because no one else is you, the foods that work well for someone else may not be right for your body. At heart, The Inflammation Spectrum is about learning to love your body enough to nourish it with delicious, healing foods. You'll find insightful quizzes and empowering advice to put you on a path toward food freedom and overall healing, once and for all.

Inflammation has been described as the basis of many pathologies of human disease. When one considers the updated signs of inflammation, they would be vasodilation, cell migration, and, in the case of chronic inflam- tion, cell proliferation, often with an underlying autoimmune basis. Gen- ally, inflammation may be divided into acute, chronic, and autoimmune, - though the editors believe that most, if not all, chronic states are often the result of an autoimmune response to an endogenous antigen. Thus, a proper understanding of the inflammatory basis may provide clues to new therap- tic targets not only in classical inflammatory diseases, but atherosclerosis, cancer, and ischemic heart disease as well. The lack of advances in classical inflammatory diseases, such as rh- matoid arthritis, may in part arise from a failure to classify the disease into different forms. That different forms exist is exemplified in patients with d- fering responses to existing antiinflammatory drugs, ranging from nonresponders to very positive responders for a particular nonsteroidal an- inflammatory drug (NSAID). Though researchers have progressively unr- eled the mechanisms, the story is far from complete. It should also be noted that the inflammatory response is part of the innate immune response, or to use John Hunter’s words in 1795, “inflammation is a salutary response.” That may be applied in particular to the defensive response to invading micro- ganisms.