inflammation

Glimpse of an elusive diagnostic biomarker for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Posted 23 April 2013 by Kausik Datta

The clinical entity of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome1 (CFS) has so long eluded explanation. Patients of CFS complain of extreme and prolonged fatigue that is disproportionate to their physical and mental activity, and is not alleviated by any amount of rest. The condition may well last for more than 6 months at a time, and may be accompanied by a variety of other symptoms, such as pain in the muscles and/or joints without swelling, memory impairment, significant lapse of concentration, headaches,... Read more

Posted in Inflammation, Research Blogging, Science, Science Communication, Science Education, Scientific Research |

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Diabetes and Chronic Inflammation – connecting the dots, Part Deux

Posted 13 September 2012 by Kausik Datta

In the FIRST POST of this two part series, I laid out some facts about Type 2 diabetes which results from insulin resistance, and indicated how non-esterified ('Free') Fatty Acids (FFAs) induce chronic inflammation via engagement of TLR4 and the NF-κB pathway, eventually leading to Insulin resistance - and yet, since FFA doesn't bind TLR4, it's not known how the twain meets. The elegant set of studies described in the Pal at al. paper in the July 29, 2012 issue... Read more

Posted in Animal Experimentation, Public Health, Research Blogging, Science, Science Communication, Science Education, Scientific Research |

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Diabetes and Chronic Inflammation – connecting the dots, Part Un

Posted 13 September 2012 by Kausik Datta

Nature Medicine has recently featured studies dealing with obesity-related insulin resistance which leads to a type of diabetes, called Type 2 diabetes. Of these papers, one by Pal et al. (Nature Medicine, 18(8):1284, August 2012) highlights some specific aspects of the disease, including prospects for future therapeutics. I found it interesting - for various reasons* - enough to spur me to write about diabetes in the context of their observations. I shall make it a 2-part series; in the first... Read more

Posted in Public Health, Research Blogging, Science, Science Education, Scientific Research, Uncategorized |

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Part 2 of 2: Inflammation and Exercise: friend or foe?

Posted 25 August 2011 by Kausik Datta

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this two-part post, inflammation is a two-edged sword, requiring a fine balance between initiation and termination, in order to promote health and not disease. With this idea in mind, I came across a recent review article by Gleeson et al. in Nature Reviews Immunology, which focuses on the anti-inflammatory effects of exercise and its implications in health and disease.1 The authors observed that pathogenesis of various conditions associated with many metabolic and other... Read more

Posted in Research Blogging, Science, Science Communication, Scientific Research |

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Part 1 of 2: Inflammation: A two edged sword

Posted 25 August 2011 by Kausik Datta

Inflammatory mechanisms are very important for the innate defence system of the body. When the host body encounters stimuli it perceives as harmful, such as pathogens and/or products thereof, injured cells or tissue, or any foreign object that irritates the surrounding tissue, the host often responds with a complex generalized response. A part of this response involves vascular tissues, leading to increased translocation of circulating white blood cells (WBC or leukocytes), especially the granule-containing cells (such as neutrophils) and mononuclear... Read more

Posted in Research Blogging, Science, Science Communication, Scientific Research |

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