Acute Inflammation (Good) vs. Chronic Inflammation (Bad)
Click here for a mobile-friendly version. Inflammation may have started as the solution —for example, as a way to rid the body of a dangerous invader—but if it doesn't turn off when it should , it instead can become the problem . To protect itself and try to remove the injurious stimuli, the body triggers the inflammation, an elaborate response involving the vascular system, the immune system, and various cells within the injured tissue . The classic signs of inflammation — swelling , pain, redness and loss of function — usually appear after an injury. The body's immune response may keep inflammation going, long after the threat has cleared. Acute inflammation has now transitioned to chronic inflammation . Chronic inflammation plays a central role in some of the most challenging diseases of our time, including rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and even Alzheimer’s . [13-15,27] Oxidative Stress At the center of inflammation ...