Inflammation Theory: Now More Credible Than Ever

A new study shows that my Inflammation Theory is more credible than ever now.

DeLano and his collaborator, Geert Schmid-Schonbein, a professor of bioengineering at UCSD, have been working with a widely used laboratory model of disease, a rat bred to have high blood pressure.

They have found that proteases, whose function is to clear away molecular debris, can go awry and split apart a number of different cell wall receptors. If insulin receptors are damaged, normal metabolism of glucose is not possible, and diabetes can be the result. Proteases can also damage receptors that are vital for the functioning of infection-fighting leukocytes.

And there's more...

The researchers also found that protein receptors on the surface of cells are clipped off as the rats develop high blood pressure. "Many receptors in blood vessels cause them to relax," DeLano said. "Many proteases we see in the animals cleave receptors responsible for relaxation." Giving the rats doxycycline, an antibiotic that is also a protease inhibitor, brought down their blood pressure and restored normal immune system function.

What does this all mean?

"This is really an important observation," said H. Glenn Bohlen, a professor of cellular and integrative physiology at Indiana University Medical School, who wrote an accompanying editorial. "It ties in information that high blood pressure and insulin resistance have the same cause, damage to receptors."

And the real kicker:

The newly reported studies might also help explain why antioxidants such as vitamins C and E help against inflammation, he said.

"The next approach probably would be to treat an inflammatory state," Bohlen said. "There is something going on that we can interact with. There are many commercially available methods for blocking proteases."

In addition to antibiotics such as doxycycline, drugs such as ACE inhibitors are protease inhibitors, DeLano said. Protease inhibitors are also used to control HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

(Emphasis mine.)

Let's home this memo makes it to our doctors.

The Forced Allergy Experiment: An Inflammation Theory Crash Course

So after much theorizing about how I believe my allergies are one of the root causes of many of my problems, I'm finally going to go to an allergist and get tested. I am going to be proactive and try to rid my life of the things that irritate my body. I believe I'm a good candidate for immunotherapy (allergy shots).

Sounds great, right?

It will be--once I get there. I get tested on Wednesday. In order to get tested and have a proper test, I must refrain from taking any allergy medications for the few days beforehand. This means, that on the hottest days of the year so far, when my allergies are at an all time high, I am without the aid of Zyrtec, Allegra or even Benadryl to help me. I am, in fact, winging it. If it weren't for cold water, saline nose spray and holistic eye drops I'd be dying right now.

Instead, I'm sitting it out. Very impatiently. Wednesday cannot come fast enough.

This should be interesting on many fronts, though. As those with IC and IBS and vulvodynia can attest to, allergies are often a signal that pain is to come. When The Body Chronic overproduces histimines, pain is often the result. Thus, chronic pain is often exacerbated by allergic reactions. A sneeze is one thing--this reaction is quite another.

What's even better is that I somehow timed this as the perfect storm. Being on Yasmin, my cycles are controlled and much more regulated, but guess what week it is? Coupled with an already inflamed pelvic region and no antihistimine relief in sight, I am bracing for the worst. I figured if I could just stay in the air conditioning and avoid anything strenuous, I could make it to Wednesday.

I didn't figure the weather would play a part in this. I was wrong.

Yesterday, in Michigan, there were severe storms in the afternoon, knocking out power to many. Guess who had a brownout with no AC and only one fan? That's right, me. And today's heat index promises to be about 95-100 degrees.

Surprisingly, though, I am not too bad off right now. My allergies are cracking, but not too bad.
I'm indoors (for now). But my back is hurting, which often stems from my pelvis and it's no small miracle that I'm going to the chiropractor this afternoon anyhow. If it weren't scheduled it will be.

I have an outdoor concert tonight to attend. That should prove interesting.

Ahhh...life in The Body Chronic. Always keeps you on your toes.

Friday Chronic Roundup

There's a lot of stories out there this week. Enjoy!

PCOS/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes

• Another Inflammation Theory alert--researchers ID the inflammation fighting pathway in fat cells.
• The prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in women of "child bearing" age.

Interstitial Cystitis/Pelvic Floor Dysfunction/Vulvodynia

• A fun and good quick and dirty primer on vulvodynia for those who are searching for a reason for their pain.
• An overview of incontinence and the physical therapy versus surgical treatments.
• A chronic pain in the vage--at Feministing.
• A surgical robot helps solve Pelvic Floor Dysfunction.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Fibromyalgia

• A new fibromyalgia drug enters phase III of testing.
• Is it CFS or is it electrosensitivity?

Other

• When are antibiotics necessary to treat Lyme disease?
• Gluten free products are gaining popularity.

My Allergies Are Killing Me

A lot of people say this, not many people truly know how it feels. Allergies, for someone with chronic illness or chronic pain is like rubbing salt in an already gaping wound. It stirs everything up, makes you even more off balance, and creates pain where pain was previously subdued. Nothing, short of a major dose of Benadryl that'll knock you off your socks, will really settle this down.

I am more aware of these things now that I'm aware of my chronic illnesses. I can see the relation to the response to my allergies and the pain I feel.

So it inspired me today (because of my lack of focus and a quiet office) to do some internet research into allergies and chronic illness. I've posted about this before on TBC in relation to IBS (here), but I think the problem is more widespread than just IBS. In my research, though, I found nothing more concrete than what I suspect and nothing to really write home (or here) about.

I'm going to make a pronouncement here: I believe allergic reactions may very well be the root of all chronic illness. I believe that this will be discovered in 5-10 years.

Unfortunately, I'm not so positive about a solution. Sure we can all take a bunch of antihistimines, but who wants to walk around life in that state? There must be something more genetic in those of us with these conditions that can be modified or treated or something that would lead to the alleviation of pain and suffering.

So let's talk about allergies. What are they, and how do they work?

The Cleveland Clinic has a good basic overview of allergies in general. There it defines allergies as:

the immune system’s incorrect response to a foreign substance. Exposure to what is normally a harmless substance, such as pollen, causes the immune system to react as if the substance is harmful. Substances that cause allergies are called allergens.

It goes on to describe an allergic reaction:

A hypersensitive response, or allergic "reaction," is the result of how three factors interact with the body:

1. The allergen — Allergens include pollen, mold, dust mites, certain foods, latex, animal dander, and others.

2. Mast cells — Although mast cells are found throughout the body, most reside in connective tissues such as those of the skin, tongue, the lining of the nose and intestinal tract, the lungs, and upper airways.

3. Immunoglobulin E (IgE) — IgE is an allergic antibody, a type of protein made by the immune system to recognize and fight specific body "invaders." IgE coats the surface of the mast cells in tissues.

So we have basic definitions that tell us this: (1) Allergies cause a reaction of the immune system; (2) that reaction is due to a sensitivity and, thus, is an overreaction.

Some chronic illness allergy connections are easy to see. For example asthma is almost always exacerbated by allergens. But some aren't as easy to see. There is proof of their existence though. There have been studies done on the relation of allergies to interstitial cystitis. There's a pretty strong connection between allergies and migraines. An allergic reaction to candida in the body, or yeast, can be one of the root causes of vulvodynia. In fact, insulin resistance may truly be an allergic reaction in and of itself. There is research to show that PCOS is an allergic type reaction.

So tell me...if allergies are the cause of INFLAMMATION...and allergies are all common to these conditions, don't you think there's an inflammatory connection?

Just some biased and unprofessional opinion on it...

Women Who Lack Sleep More Prone to...well...everything

Researchers have discovered what many women already knew--women who go without sleep are at a higher risk for complications from the lack of sleep than are men.

Blood samples taken from the volunteers were measured for levels of biomarkers associated with increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, including insulin and glucose levels, fibrinogen (a clotting factor) and two inflammatory proteins, interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein.

Ah....inflammatory proteins. The Inflammation Theory strikes again!

In addition to a greater level of irritability and depression from sleep deprivation, more biological signs were evident in the women tested.

Women who reported higher degree of sleep disruption also had higher levels of all the biomarkers tested. For women, poor sleep was associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, measures of inflammation that have been associated with increased risk of heart disease, and higher levels of insulin. The results were so dramatic that of those women considered poor sleepers, 33 per cent had C-reactive protein levels associated with high risk of heart disease, says Suarez.

This probably also plays into the reasoning (if it's ever acknowledged) of why women have far more chronic illnesses than their male counterparts. Unfortunately, sometimes it is a biological thing.

I guess it's just one more reason to hit the hay early tonight.

New Genetic Family Ties

Scientists have found that there is a gene that creates sensitivity to insulin so that people whose gene is impaired have a lower functioning system. A lower-functioning system leads to poor insulin tolerance and then to fat.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

In this latest piece of research, the scientists studied an enzyme called diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) delta, which is vital for maintaining the insulin sensitivity of cells. DGK delta plays a role in breaking down lipids. The researchers found that the gene which produces DGK delta is less active in the muscle tissue of people with high blood sugar and type 2 diabetes.

In the absence of this gene, the muscle cells were less sensitive to insulin and had impaired fat burning ability, increasing the person's risk of developing obesity.

The good news is that correcting blood sugar levels through exercise or drugs boosts the activity of the gene which produces DGK delta and restores the insulin sensitivity of the cells.

'The expression of this gene is reduced when blood sugar rises, but activity can be restored if blood sugar is controlled by pharmacological treatment or exercise,' explains Professor Juleen Zierath of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who led the research. 'Our results underscore the importance of tight regulation of blood sugar for people with diabetes.'

This plays pretty well into my Inflammation Theory. Some people have a greater sensitivity than others and the norm (or the desired norm at least) is for a heightened sensitivity. Those without that sensitivity or those whose sensitivity has been burned over time have trouble with it.

Allergies Linked to IBS

One of the things that I likely have but have never been officially diagnosed with is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

There is now a study out that shows a link between allergies and IBS.

This makes perfect sense to me in so many inexplicable ways. And it's just one more thing to show that there's a connection here. Remember that song that goes "the hip bone's connected to the leg bone..." etc? I feel a chorus of that coming on.

This also plays into my Inflammation Theory. The theory, without anything other than my personal experience, is that I believe people with the issues that I have are more suceptible to inflammation from one source or another. Some are more sensitive to insulin, some are more sensitive to allergens. Some are sensitive to both. Regardless, this oversensitivity leads to chronic problems that are both caused by and exacerbated by inflammation from whatever the source was in the first place. Thus, I believe the first step in treating any of these things is finding the trigger item and eliminating it while working on other treatment options. It's not possible to do that in all situations, but limiting contact or finding ways to de-sensitize is the key.

Hitting the Big Time: Vulvodynia in the NYT

The NYT has a really good article about vulvodynia today. Sometimes articles like this tell me things I already know, but this one, in addition to providing a good overview, is in depth and provides new information.

One part about a new study regarding the cause of the condition was extremely interesting:

Dr. William Ledger, professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and an expert on vulvodynia, said, “It is clear that there are subdivisions of this condition — one diagnosis doesn’t fit everyone.”

Working with Steven S. Witkin, Dr. Ledger has found two genetically based predisposing factors. In one, the women produce inadequate amounts of a substance that blocks an inflammatory response. “They get an inflammatory response to an infection,” Dr. Ledger said, “but it doesn’t go away.”

Another genetic aberration results in unstable production of a substance that normally responds to an invasion by yeast or bacteria, placing them at increased risk of chronic infections.

Using a dermatological instrument that reveals two cell layers beneath the skin, Dr. Ledger said, “we’re seeing much more widespread inflammation in these patients than appears to the naked eye.” He added that he had treated patients who had vulvar inflammation with local estrogen or steroids; while they looked 80 percent better on the surface, their symptoms were only about 20 percent better, because the inflammation remained beneath the surface.

In addition, Dr. Ledger said, “there’s good evidence that with vulvodynia as a whole, the women have more nerve fibers in the vulva and they are firing more pain signals to the brain.” He continued: “It’s a kind of vulvar fibromyalgia. Most patients with vulvodynia have very tender glands at the entrance to the vagina.”

In fact, several recent studies have shown up to a tenfold increase in the density of nerve endings in what is called the vulvar vestibule. In some cases the women appear to have been born with this overabundance of nerve endings. But as Dr. Andrew T. Goldstein, a gynecologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and colleagues reported in 2006 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, excessive nerve endings may also be caused by nerve growth factors after an inflammatory response or from hormonal changes like those induced by oral contraceptives

Very interesting, indeed. It plays into my whole inflammation theory--that all of the things I have are caused by a degree of inflammation which is greater than the normal human or a reaction to inflammation that is abnormal.

The treatment section of the article is a bit light, offering only surgery and drugs as an option, when we all know there is more than just that. But all in all it's a great article that's not only informative, but for those of us with it, provides reassurance.