Inflammation Archives

Obesity and inflammation: A recipe for depression in women

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Dr Pasco and team are unmasking a link between metabolically unhealthy obesity and depression.

A team led by Dr Julie Pasco, Professor of Epidemiology at Deakin University and Barwon Health, Australia, analysed data from the longitudinal Geelong Osteoporosis Study over 16 years. The researchers discovered that metabolically unhealthy obesity, defined by low-grade inflammation in combination with obesity, puts women at higher risk of developing depression. These novel findings highlight inflammation as both a key […]

Spiking of urinary biomarker with exercise: A marker of muscle inflammation?

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Seeking a sensitive biomarker of inflammation, Emeritus Professor Isao Okayasu of Kiryu University and Kitasato University, Japan and his colleagues have spent over two decades investigating chronic organ inflammation and its links to cancer. They have developed methods to measure prostaglandin E-major urinary metabolite (PGE-MUM) as a surrogate marker, which has opened the door for its investigation in different physiological […]

How can diet influence women’s reproductive health?

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Dr Nicholas studies the role of energy balance and diet on reproductive function, particularly in women as they are normally underrepresented in clinical studies

The majority of clinical trials focus on male participants. Dr Dequina Nicholas, Assistant Professor at the University of California Irvine in the US, argues that there is an urgent need to focus more on women’s health, especially fertility-related complications. She is exploring the impact of what we eat on metabolism, inflammation, and reproduction, expanding the possibility that dietary manipulation can […]

Novel immunoassays for detection of faecal calprotectin and neutrophil extracellular traps in the gut

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Dr Fagerhol has developed new methods for the assessment of faecal calprotectin, a valuable non-invasive biomarker for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that is increasingly common.

Faecal calprotectin (CP) is a valuable biomarker for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Nevertheless, commercial assays do not display comparable clinical sensitivities and specificities. Dr Magne Fagerhol at the Oslo University Hospital, Norway, explored the structure of faecal CP to understand the sources of variation and developed new monoclonal antibody mixtures and immunoassay procedures that improved the sensitivity. Moreover, Fagerhol demonstrated […]

A new strategy for the treatment of chronic wounds

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A number of people are working in what looks to be a scientific laboratory. Everyone is wearing white coats, and one woman is leaning against a countertop. Dr Manuela Martins-Green investigates the impact of increased OS levels on wound healing by stimulating chronic wound development in a diabetic mouse model.

Wound healing is highly regulated, but oxidative stress (OS) can disturb this healing process in chronic wounds. To better understand the process of initiating chronicity, Dr Manuela Martins-Green and her colleagues at the University of California investigated the impact of increased OS levels on wound healing by stimulating chronic wound development in a diabetic mouse model. The team provides insight […]

Brain Awareness Week 2022

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March 14 marks the start of Brain Awareness Week! Spearheaded by the Dana Foundation, the importance of brain research is catapulted onto the global platform between 14th–20th March 2022 – and cerebral successes in the field are celebrated. Research into the brain is vital for saving lives, increasing quality of life and explaining how ‘the little grey cells’ control our […]

The role of gut microflora in mucosal immunity

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Dr Gary Huffnagle has identified a number of intestinal microflora members which can regulate mucosal immunity in the gut microbiome

The microbiome is of recent interest in mucosal immunity. Dr Gary Huffnagle and colleagues at the University of Michigan have identified a variety of intestinal microflora members which can metabolically communicate with host cells and regulate mucosal immunity. Accumulating evidence suggests that various metabolites produced by hosts and microbiome members and their crosstalk are more important than previously thought. Understanding […]

Could a serpin antibody help to treat type 1 diabetes?

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Research from Dr Jan Czyzyk and his team at the University of Minnesota, USA, explores the balance between proteases and serpins, and how their activity can in turn affect the inflammation and tissue regeneration of pancreatic islet cells. Their findings show that antibodies can be used to change this serpin–protease balance, with interesting impacts. Excitingly, their research opens the possibility […]

Long-term outcomes in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

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Dr Yamashita studies the long-term outcomes of patients post-operative ability to walk outside after surgery to deal with rheumatoid arthritis

Due to the degeneration of the knee joint in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), walking becomes difficult. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) can restore the ability to walk. Several reports have been published highlighting the survival rate of TKA in RA patients, however, no study has focused on the prospect of outdoor walking. Dr Fumiharu Yamashita and his team from the […]

Human Leukocyte Antigens: The missing link in Alzheimer’s disease etiology

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Viral infections such as the herpes virus have been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease risk.

Alzheimer’s disease is a huge socioeconomic burden in developed countries. Recently, viral infections such as the herpes virus have been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease risk. However, it is unclear what the link between the two is. Professor Lisa M. James of the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with Dr Apostolos Georgopoulos and Dr Spyros Charonis, has utilised computational biology to […]