Tag Archives: Inflammation

Inflammation, Hormones, and Health: Navigating the Complex Connection

Systemic inflammation, often called chronic low-grade inflammation, can persist for long periods without apparent symptoms making it difficult to identify and manage. Common signs of inflammation, such as fatigue, gastrointestinal disorders, skin changes, and cognitive issues, may often be mistaken for other conditions leaving many patients without a precise diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Chronic systemic inflammation contributes to the vast majority of chronic health conditions, including autoimmune diseases, type 2 diabetes, hormone imbalances, and other serious health issues. As awareness of its role in disease pathogenesis grows, an expanding body of research furthers our understanding of the numerous and intricate connections between inflammation and aspects of health.

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The Future of CIRS

By: Andrew Heyman, MD, MHSA

It is difficult, if not dangerous, to predict the future. But trends and good data can point the way toward possibilities and probabilities. There is momentum building in our understanding of Chronic Inflammatory Response  Syndrome (CIRS), and the science has grown exponentially in the past 18 months thanks to transcriptomics. This new knowledge is sweeping our efforts forward in a  more defined direction while we hone our understanding of the disease. The future is coming into focus.

There are also larger moving parts within the general CIRS practitioner community and even external social and market forces that seem to be creating a set of likely outcomes that are both exciting and important.

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Predicting Disease Susceptibility Through Changes in Cognitive Performance

Cognitive function and other physiological factors, such as stress levels, have long been associated with physiological health and immunocompetence. Markers of cognitive function, such as reaction time, vigilance, and processing speed, are central to human ability and optimal performance. Variability in these measures is common, as numerous environmental, physical, and mental factors can modify them, including sleep quality, dietary patterns, and other lifestyle choices.

A burgeoning body of scientific evidence suggests that intra-individual variability reaction time and other cognitive performance markers may reflect neurobiological disturbances and, thus, have valuable prognostic significance. Prior research has shown that a heightened variability in reaction time is explicitly associated with greater mortality risk in both younger and older adults. Now, the results of a recent 2022 study reveal a potential connection between cognitive performance and disease susceptibility that could transform our understanding of and approach to the brain-immune system pathway.

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