Introduction
What are inflamatory diseases?
Inflamatory diseases are related to inflamatory condition of the organ involved. E.g. in ischemic bowel disease it’s the mucosa of intestine which is inflamed (red and swollen). Inflamatory disease appears connected to almost every known chronic disease — from heart disease to cancer, diabetes to obesity, autism to dementia, and even depression.
Step 1
What is inflamatory process?
Inflamation is a stereotyped response, and therefore it is considered as a mechanism of innate immunity, as compared to adaptive immunity, which is specific for each pathogen and other allergen. Other inflamatory diseases such as allergies, asthma, arthritis, and autoimmune disease are increasing at dramatic rates. To shut off inflammation process we are equipped with aspirin, anti-inflamatory medication such as Advil or Motrin, steroids and increasingly more powerful immune suppressing medication with serious side effects. The underlying pathogenesis of inflamatory changes in chronic disease unknown to us. Hidden allergens, infections, environmental toxins, an inflamatory diet, and stress are the causes of these inflamatory conditions.
Step 2
Types of inflamatory disorders:
Inflamatory diseases can be acute or chronic. Different organs in body can be affected by these inflamatory problems in a manner different form one another. Few most common occurring inflamatory diseases are: Acne vulgaris, Asthma, Autoimmune diseases, Celiac disease, Chronic prostatitis, Glomerulonephritis, Hypersensitivities, Inflamatory bowel diseases, Pelvic inflamatory disease, Reperfusion injury, Rheumatoid arthritis, Sarcoidosis, Transplant rejection, Vasculitis, Interstitial cystitis.
Step 3
Treatment plan of inflamatory disease:
3 steps are generally accepted to the treat any kind of inflamatory disease:
Treat the ongoing process of infection & inflammation with antibiotics and anti inflamatory drugs. Get their full evaluation done. Follow up should be done for recurrence of predisposing factors.
Treatment methods utilized to cure inflamatory diseases are:
For years, a group of chronic, inflamatory diseases has frustrated physicians and patients seeking effective treatment. The growing knowledge about the immune system's role in diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia gravis, scleroderma and multiple sclerosis (MS) means that there is hope for long-term treatments and perhaps even cures. In light of such recent discoveries, the AMA held an inflamatory diseases media briefing in New York City, where experts gathered to discuss the evolving body of thought surrounding the treatment of these chronic autoimmune diseases which, as of now, have no cure.
All of these disorders are chronic progressive diseases. Unlocking the secrets of some might lead to therapies for others. For example, while the immune system has long been implicated in MS, it has only been in the last five years or so that we’ve believed that the immune system plays a role in psoriasis.
New Treatments of inflamatory diseases Offer Hope:
Although many inflamatory diseases seem to have a genetic component, some are triggered by other processes. Cytokines, for instance, are naturally-produced proteins that trigger inflamatory and disease-fighting responses to toxins, injury, viruses and bacteria. These proteins are of particular interest when studying inflamatory disorders, as their malfunction may be responsible for everything from the over-production of skin in psoriasis to the destruction of nerve insulating material in MS to the abnormal growth of connective tissue in scleroderma.
Tips
While the exact cause of psoriasis is not known, experts do know that symptoms are a result of cells in the outer layer of the skin reproducing quickly and piling up on the skin’s surface. For those patients who suffer from more aggressive cases, new biologic agents offer an alternative in treating psoriasis. Designed through genetic engineering to affect only the target organ system -- in this case the immune system and the skin -- biologic therapies avoid the multi-organ toxicity often seen with traditional treatments such as methotrexate and cyclosporine. Biologics are delivered via injection rather than orally, because the proteins would be broken down in the stomach and improvements are typically seen after a couple of months of twice-a-week to every-other-week treatment.
Many patients no longer seek healthcare for this condition because they believe their options are exhausted and they must live with the disease. They are frustrated with therapy because their physician doesn’t think their condition merits aggressive therapy or doesn’t understand the therapies that are available. People who have given up hope need to know that there are new treatments available for the treatment of inflamatory diseases. And while therapies such as specific alteration in gene expression are on the distant horizon, biological agents are the future for the next decade or beyond.
