Chronic inflammatory diseases, which can include Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis and joint diseases are the most significant cause of death in the world. Mounting evidence suggests that the body’s inflammatory responses may play a significant role in the development of dementia.
The number one risk factor for many chronic conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, is getting older. Chronic progressive inflammation, including what causes it and how to stop it, is at the centre of a relatively new field of study called inflammaging — a portmanteau of the words “inflammation” and “aging.” Research claims that the older we get, the hotter we get. Along with aging, environmental and behaviour factors like smoking, obesity, and lack of physical activity can also add to chronic inflammation, which in turn increases the chances of developing chronic conditions.
Inflammation and Chronic Conditions
Inflammation is usually your body’s response to injury and stress- such as the redness and swelling that accompanies an injury or infection. This is also known as acute inflammation. Although inflammation is a normal process designed to protect the body from injury, disease and infection in the short term, inflammation that persists can be harmful. In the case of chronic inflammation, it not only causes the disease(s) but also worsens them. Chronic inflammation can cause problems in the brain, the heart, the liver, and other organs in the body.
Many research and studies have observed that higher levels of inflammation were most strongly associated with declines in memory. Inflammation in the brain- known as neuroinflammation has been recognised and linked to other disorders as well such as depression, psychosis and multiple sclerosis. The blood or the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) of people who have Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment reveal evidence of higher inflammation when compared with those of people without dementia.
Midlife Inflammation Could Lead to Cognitive Impairment Later
A study in the journal Neurology, observed that people who harbour high levels of chronic inflammation at midlife are more likely to experience memory loss and problems with thinking in subsequent decades. Researchers used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study at Johns Hopkins University, tracking more than 12,000 people with an average age of 57 for about two decades. They found that adults with the highest levels of inflammation markers in their 40s, 50s and early 60s had a steeper rate of cognitive decline in their later years.
Keenan Walker, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of neurology and neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine notes, “In terms of symptoms, we’re finding that inflammation seems to have a particularly strong connection with declines in memory function as opposed to other aspects of cognition.”
“The things you do in your 40s and 50s will likely have an effect on how healthy your brain is in your 60s and 70s,” Walker says.
Having said that, it’s not clear whether the inflammation is a result of the disease — that is, is inflammation the brain’s response to these proteins that are not supposed to be there — or does the inflammation have a role in actually causing or exacerbating Alzheimer’s pathology.
There is ongoing research to better understand the relationship between inflammation and chronic conditions, keeping in mind other factors as well.
