Just as the course of inflammation quickly initiates and progresses, in a short time the process usually begins to subside. Redness, swelling, heat, and pain begin to dissipate and healing occurs. This is the typical course of events that accompanies the acute inflammation seen in wound healing. Although the body uses this mechanism to initiate healing, sometimes the process goes awry, fails to be self-limiting, and the inflammatory condition persists unchecked.

This is particularly true in the case of low-grade, chronic systemic inflammation where the inflammatory reaction fails to terminate and may become self-perpetuating. In younger people, this occurs as the result of several factors including poor nutrition, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, or a genetic predisposition. In aging individuals, in addition to the foregoing causes, there is an increased risk of developing a chronic, systemic inflammatory response.

As people age and the body begins to degrade, there is often the onset of a series of seemingly unrelated disorders including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, atherosclerosis, cancer, congestive heart failure, diabetes, digestive diseases, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and stroke. Although both the medical world and the lay public alike have historically attributed these events to the “normal aging processes,” it is increasingly being realized there is a basic, underlying factor which may play a significant part in the causation of many of these disorders. For example, it is now recognized that coronary artery disease, the leading killer of both men and women in the U.S. and many other Western countries, has an underlying connection to inflammation.

<<<  Back To Previous Page  <<<

The initiation of the inflammatory process involves the activation of a specific group of cells and cell-derived factors. Included among the activated cells are basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils. Nuclear factor kappa beta is among the first of the activated cell-derived factors, which in turn activates the group of cell-signaling substances cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), interkeukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha).

IL-6 is the principal cell-signaling cytokine which initiates the inflammatory response, and its presence increases with age. [1] The prolonged and unregulated release of IL-6 and other pro-inflammatory cytokines leads to cell, tissue, and ultimately to organ damage. IL-6 is manufactured in the monocytes, macrophages (a type of white blood cell), and adipocytes (fat cells) of the body, and induces the production of all of the liver’s inflammatory proteins including C-reactive protein.

C-reactive protein is recognized as the primary blood marker for inflammation. Individuals with blood levels of less that 0.5 mg/L (milligrams per liter) of C-reactive protein infrequently have heart attacks, whereas those with levels of 3.0 mg/L or higher can increase the risk by as much as 300%. [2] A 200-300% greater risk of stroke also accompanies those with elevated levels, as well as a significantly increased likelihood of suffering another stroke or heart attack in those who already have had a major stroke. [3] Elevated blood levels of C-reactive protein also increase the risk of certain cancers (esophageal and colon), as well as increasing the potential of metastasis in already-existing cancers.

Women with the highest IL-6 levels have been shown to have greater than a 200% increased risk of developing diabetes, while those with the highest C-reactive protein levels have shown over a 400% increased risk. [4] C-reactive protein and IL-6 levels are elevated in overweight and obese individuals, those with metabolic syndrome disorders, insomniacs, and individuals with virtually all other age-related diseases. Furthermore, aged individuals are at increased risk of not being able to terminate the inflammatory process once it is initiated and becomes established.

Within the last decade, researchers have discovered yet another pathway to inflammation, an enzyme which is produced in response to the inflammatory process. Known as cyclooxygenase-2, abbreviated COX-2, this enzyme is only present during inflammation and is an important actor in the inflammation cascade. Another important enzyme only recently implicated as a pathway to inflammation is lipooxygenase, referred to as 5-LOX. This enzyme may play a significant role in age-associated neuro-degenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, allergic reactions, stroke, atherosclerosis, and ischemia. [5] Fortunately, as discussed under Ingredients, researchers have discovered various means of treating many of the major mediators of inflammation, including IL-6, TNF-alpha, nuclear factor kappa beta, C-reactive protein, COX-2, and 5-LOX.

<<<  Back To Previous Page  <<<