Blood tests known as 'inflammatory markers' can detect inflammation in the body, caused by many diseases including infections, auto-immune conditions and cancers. The tests don't identify what's causing the inflammation: it might be as simple as a viral infection, or as serious as cancer.
Your liver releases more CRP into your bloodstream if you have inflammation in your body. High levels of CRP may mean you have a serious health condition that causes inflammation. Inflammation is your body's way of protecting your tissues and helping them heal from an injury, infection, or other disease.
Studies of specific cancers in symptomatic primary care patients have reported an association between raised inflammatory markers for bladder and kidney cancers, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, plus myeloma, albeit with very low positive predictive values (PPVs) for a raised inflammatory marker result.
ESR: the normal range is 0-22 mm/hr for men and 0-29 mm/hr for women. CRP: most people without any underlying health problem have a CRP level less than 3 mg/L and nearly always less than 10 mg/L. PV: the normal range for adults is 1.50-1.72 mPA.
Based on visual observation, the ancients characterised inflammation by five cardinal signs, namely redness (rubor), swelling (tumour), heat (calor; only applicable to the body' extremities), pain (dolor) and loss of function (functio laesa).
Over time, chronic inflammation can cause DNA damage and lead to cancer.
Chronic inflammation is linked to many health problems, including heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, autoimmune disease, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer. For instance, inflammation in blood vessels happens when a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the walls of arteries.
Inflammation can become chronic if the cause of the inflammation persists or certain control mechanisms in charge of shutting down the process fail. When these inflammatory responses become chronic, cell mutation and proliferation can result, often creating an environment that is conducive to the development of cancer.
Left unaddressed, chronic inflammation can damage healthy cells, tissues and organs, and may cause internal scarring, tissue death and damage to the DNA in previously healthy cells. Ultimately, this can lead to the development of potentially disabling or life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer or Type-2 diabetes.
Inflammation is a normal part of the body's defense to injury or infection, and, in this way, it is beneficial. But inflammation is damaging when it occurs in healthy tissues or lasts too long.
If you already have an inflammatory disease then rising inflammatory markers may suggest a flare up or a poor response to a treatment; a decreasing inflammatory marker can mean a good response to treatment.
The inflammatory cytokines and cells interact with the CNS: peripheral inflammation can provoke fatigue and pain, and an altered neuroendocrine system could modulate inflammation.
The most reported new cases involve the lung and breast, with colorectal cancer third, prostate cancer fourth, and stomach cancer fifth (1, 2).
The inflammatory diseases colitis, pancreatitis and hepatitis, for example, are linked to a greater risk of colon, pancreatic and liver cancers, respectively. In these diseases, immune cells create highly reactive molecules containing oxygen and nitrogen that can damage DNA. Inflammation also may cause cells to divide.
You can control — and even reverse — inflammation through a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle. People with a family history of health problems, such as heart disease or colon cancer, should talk to their physicians about lifestyle changes that support preventing disease by reducing inflammation.
In summary, preliminary evidence suggests that acute and chronic stress is associated with increased inflammatory activity and enhanced attentional processing of negative information. Both are predictive of negative mood and depression symptoms that, in turn, increase inflammatory and cognitive stress reactivity.
There is an association between increased weight gain and increased inflammation. More weight can mean more inflammation. However, reducing excess weight also tends to mean less inflammation. Gut inflammation may also be a contributing factor and can lead to weight gain.
Inflammation often causes stiffness, discomfort, and sometimes agony. Patients refer to the sensation as either a dull, throbbing feeling or a constant pulsating pain.
Although there are many inflammatory markers, also known as acute phase reactants, those most commonly measured in clinical practice (and discussed in this topic) are C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and procalcitonin (PCT).