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Inflammation (from Latin: inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants,[1] and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecular mediators. The function of inflammation is to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury, clear out necrotic cells and tissues damaged from the original insult and the inflammatory process, and initiate tissue repair.
Vishwa Deep Dixit is a professor of comparative medicine and immunobiology at Yale’s School of Medicine. Dixit and eight other students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors study the intersection between the immune system and metabolism at Dixit Lab.
It’s been called the “forgotten organ,” a “scientific frontier,” and even the “second brain,” yet scientists say we have barely scratched the surface on understanding the role of this living, breathing, highly complex ecosystem in shaping human health. Here’s an up-close look at what we know so far.
A plethora of conditions, from obesity to anxiety, appear to be linked to the microbes inside us. Nicola Davis explains why the microbiome is such a hot topic of research
Autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells and tissues. Any disease that results from such an aberrant immune response is termed an "autoimmune disease". Prominent examples include celiac disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, sarcoidosis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren's syndrome, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, Addison's disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, polymyositis (PM), dermatomyositis (DM) and multiple sclerosis(MS). Autoimmune diseases are very often treated with steroids.
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are lifelong illnesses. Treatment with medication is the first therapeutic option. Eventually, some people living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis may require surgery. This brochure re- views possible reasons that make surgery necessary, describes the various proce- dures, and helps you to learn what to expect.
Most physicians and other healthcare professionals are unaware of the pervasiveness of poor quality clinical evidence that contributes considerably to overuse, underuse, avoidable adverse events, missed opportunities for right care and wasted healthcare resources. The Medical Misinformation Mess comprises four key problems. First, much published medical research is not reliable or is of uncertain reliability, offers no benefit to patients, or is not useful to decision makers. Second, most healthcare professionals are not aware of this problem. Third, they also lack the skills necessary to evaluate the reliability and usefulness of medical evidence. Finally, patients and families frequently lack relevant, accurate medical evidence and skilled guidance at the time of medical decision‐making.