The End of Inflammation?

The resolution of inflammation is an active, highly coordinated process

The End of Inflammation?
A new approach could treat dozens of diseases^[1]

Autoimmune diseases, cancer, aging, and severe infections have been linked to inflammation damage.

Scientists are focusing on new ways of treating inflammation, which are expected to revolutionize the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.

With the above title, National Geographic's article about inflammation introduces an innovative approach that revolutionizes how we treat this condition.

Many patients start experiencing symptoms that are not characteristic of any specific disease. Low energy levels, exhaustion, gastrointestinal disturbances, reduced mental clarity, and muscle pains in different parts of the body can manifest and persist for years without being linked to the diagnosis of any particular disease.

Over time, a major life change, significant stress, a change in employment, or a viral infection can trigger inflammation.

This inflammation activation ultimately results in the development of diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, diabetes, cancer, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, or multiple sclerosis. Patients are put on cortisone or immune suppressants to control inflammation.

Patients may sometimes feel that the treatment is more challenging to endure than the disease itself. This is particularly true when they have to take high doses of cortisone, or immune suppressants, which can impact mood, lead to weight gain, and make the body more susceptible to bacterial and viral infections.

"Simply stopping inflammation is not enough to return tissue to its normal state," says Ruslan Medzhitov, a professor of immunobiology at the Yale School of Medicine, as reported in National Geographic. This approach disregards the other side of the inflammation coin: resolving it and repairing the damage.

The Resolution of Inflammation

The resolution of inflammation is an active, highly coordinated process for tissue reconstruction and the removal of dead bacteria and cells. When this process is disrupted, inflammatory diseases occur.

The involvement of inflammation in most chronic diseases, including aging itself and the pathological conditions that accompany it, was extensively described in the early 2000s.

Until relatively recently, we believed that inflammation simply stopped. Immunologists thought that the molecules triggering it and the dead cells that resulted would eventually break down somehow and gradually be absorbed.

However, the reality is entirely different. The completion of the inflammation process is a meticulously controlled process that results in the healing of damaged tissues.

Inflammation is the mechanism the body activates to repair damage. The accumulation of blood in the area, swelling, redness, and pain are all part of this process. For example, pain and increased sensitivity in an injured part of the body aim to protect the area until the body fully restores its functionality.

Chronic Inflammation

What happens when inflammation becomes chronic?

When inflammation becomes chronic, the chemical arsenal used by the immune system's cells often damages healthy tissues. The cost is worn joints, damaged neurons, burdened kidneys, and more.
Persistent chronic inflammation has been linked to autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, characterized by pain, limited movement, and organ damage (heart, kidneys, lungs).

In extreme cases, such as cytokine storms associated with severe bacterial infections or severe viral illness, inflammation can destroy multiple organs simultaneously, leading to multi-organ failure and death.

The use of pharmacological treatments such as cortisone, anti-inflammatory drugs, and biological agents stops inflammation and reduces pain. However, they do not allow the body to complete the process and repair the damage.

Targeted Analysis Guide the Resolution of Inflammation & Tissue Healing

Over the last decade, there has been a significant increase in understanding the mechanisms of initiation and resolution of inflammation. Efforts have focused on approaches that lead to the resolution of the inflammatory process, rather than its interruption.

The resolution of the inflammatory process can be achieved both pharmacologically and by restoring the body's natural healing mechanisms.

Although there is a plethora of pharmacological options that interrupt inflammation, existing pharmacological interventions do not allow the completion of the inflammatory process and the healing of tissues.

New pharmacological treatments targeting the resolution of inflammation and enhancing the healing process are still in the research stage and significant developments are expected in the next five years.

However, medical interventions related to lifestyle, correcting body deficiencies, and diet already bring significant improvement in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.

Targeted tests map the body's condition and the disorders that prevent the completion of inflammation.

Modern lifestyle and diet are the main factors in the onset and maintenance of chronic inflammation.

A large number of physiological processes promote the regulation of inflammation. Interventions that enhance the resolution of inflammation and healing mechanisms bring better long-term results.

Up until recently, traditional measurement techniques made it notably challenging to assess the metabolic disorders and deficiencies that contribute to inflammation precisely.

Over the last decade, the measurement of tiny molecules that participate in the body's chemical reactions known as metabolites. These metabolites offer insights into how effectively the body can control inflammation.

These advanced tests, known as metabolomic analyses, target patients who suffer from autoimmune diseases or chronic conditions.

Metabolomic analyses precisely uncover the body's deficiencies and the metabolic imbalances linked to handling inflammation and the progression of these diseases.

This is a very sensitive measurement method, capturing the body's deficiencies in vitamins, minerals, micronutrients, and the metabolic disorders linked to managing inflammation and the progression of related diseases^[3-5].

Metabolomic analyses are a set of specialized tests that detect over 80 markers concerning:

The metabolism of fatty acids: The balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is a crucial indicator of the body's ability to manage inflammation, playing a central role in regulating the immune system's normal response.
Deficiencies in micronutrients: vitamin D, vitamin C, selenium, zinc, antioxidants, and omega-3 deficiencies or increased uncovered needs hinder thousands of processes necessary to maintain healthy body function.
Energy production in mitochondria. Those are the cell organelles where energy is generated. Mitochondria dysfunctions reflect the general health condition of the body, probably more than any other single marker.
Difficulty in metabolizing simple sugars: Consuming more simple sugars than the body can metabolize triggers inflammation and is a significant indicator of the progression of autoimmune and chronic diseases.
Insulin resistance: Elevated insulin levels disrupt immune function, worsen inflammation, and accelerate organ destruction.
The state of the body's microbial flora: alterations in the microbiome are linked to deteriorating immune system function and the ability to differentiate between its own tissues and external elements, like pathogenic bacteria and viruses.

Metabolomic analyses are not comparable to ordinary laboratory tests. These tests are highly specialized and are performed in only a select number of laboratories around the world that adhere to very high standards.

Our clinic's lab is involved in quality control programs organized by prestigious institutions such as the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the European Network of Laboratory Metabolic Diseases (ERNDIM).

With the use of metabolomic analyses, small molecules that are part of the body's chemical reactions are measured, accurately detecting deficiencies and metabolic disorders that promote inflammation and worsen the course of autoimmune and chronic diseases. Such diseases include Hashimoto's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, obesity, diabetes, cancer, lupus, osteoarthritis, and others.

If the deficiencies and metabolic disorders that promote chronic inflammation and hinder its resolution are not identified, the patient's health steadily deteriorates, while significantly reducing the response to pharmacological treatments aimed at halting inflammation, such as cortisone, anti-inflammatory drugs, and biological agents.

Today, medicine has more tools than it did just ten or five years ago.

Targeted medical interventions to correct the body's deficiencies, in combination with the use of new, more effective, and more patient-friendly pharmacological treatments, are changing the course of the disease and the quality of life for these patients.

Bibliographic References

[1] The end of inflammation? New approach could treat dozens of diseases. National Geographic MARCH 4, 2022
[2] Chronic Inflammation in the Context of Everyday Life: Dietary Changes as Mitigating Factors. Margină D, Tsoukalas, D.;Sarandi, E.; Tsatsakis, A et a. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 4135.
[3] Targeted Metabolomic Analysis of Serum Fatty Acids for the Prediction of Autoimmune Diseases. Dimitris Tsoukalas, Vasileios Fragoulakis, Evangelia Sarandi et. al. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Metabolomics (6), 2019, November.
[4] Micronutrient deficiencies in patients with COVID-19: how metabolomics can contribute to their prevention and replenishment. Dimitris Tsoukalas1,2 and Evangelia Sarandi2,3 BMJ Nutri Prev Heal. Nov. 2020
[5] Non-communicable Diseases in the Era of Precision Medicine: An Overview of the Causing Factors and Prospects.Dimitris Tsoukalas, Evangelia Sarandi et. al. Bio#Futures. Springer, Cham. May 2021.

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