The Inflammation Gap

"My patient's lungs were filled with blood, and he lay intubated in an ICU bed. His kidneys were failing, too. The cause of his illness was not a mystery: He had been previously diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that, in many cases, leads to severe organ damage, and he clearly needed the same treatment he'd received before, a drug that suppresses the immune system. With it, he started to improve in days."

"He and his wife exchanged uncertain glances as I explained that doctors don't know what sets off most autoimmune inflammatory diseases: It's likely a complex interplay between genetics, environment, and bad luck. But we do know how to treat them. At the next visit, his wife asked me about the potential causes of chronic inflammation that she'd read about online-tick bites, heavy-metal exposures, nutritional deficiencies-as well as anti-inflammatory treatments including herbal supplements, acupuncture, and energy healing."

Patients often understand 'inflammation' as a vague, catch-all explanation for diverse health problems, while clinicians define inflammation as immune cells infiltrating tissues and releasing cytokines. Advances in immunology have identified many cytokines and enabled targeted therapies that suppress specific immune pathways to prevent organ damage in autoimmune disease. Popular culture reframes inflammation as a general bête noire, linking it to disparate causes and promoting unproven anti-inflammatory supplements and therapies. That semantic disconnect can produce confusion, encourage pursuit of ineffective or harmful alternatives, and complicate clinical recommendations. Clear, precise communication about mechanisms, evidence, and preventive treatment is essential to align patient decisions with effective care.

Read at The Atlantic