Everyday Inflammation

If you watch the nightly news at all here recently, I am sure that you have heard the latest research findings behind the protective benefits of aspirin not only against cardiovascular disease but cancer as well. The findings that various NSAIDs, aspirin included, actually decrease the incidence of cancer have been around in human research for a while now but here recently have just made the national news. Not sure why this is, but it seems that research findings actually take a while to make it the status of public knowledge. A shame actually, as many could have possibly benefited over the past few years. In any case, the question comes as to how aspirin could decrease the incidence of various cancers?

Inflammation is actually thought to be at the root of the aspirin intervention. The concept of inflammation being a major component of many forms of cancer has been known for a while now. It appears that many types of cancer have an up regulation of pro-inflammatory proteins or cytokines, that help to encourage the right conditions that foster cancer promotion and progression. The concept of inflammation is also tied into cardiovascular disease as well as strokes, thus the benefits of aspirin.

This brings up the whole concept of inflammation, how it comes to be and how it impacts us and our animals overall. Inflammation is a very complicated topic and beyond the scope of this blog, but is an ongoing process in our bodes as well as that of our animal companions. Inflammation is the result of exercise, the process of breathing, diet, environmental influences, various medications as well as even the mindset. The overall point is that this process exists to varying degrees in individuals and animals, but needs to be monitored and controlled.

In our veterinary patients, the inflammatory condition is rampant from my point of view and manifests in various problems ranging from repetitive injuries, to skin conditions, diabetes or insulin resistance, arthritis, laminitis as well as ocular problems. Unfortunately, monitoring the process of inflammation is difficult and does not have a parameter that can be monitored routinely. Various research studies have parameters that are measured, but these are not easily tested in the real world of medicine. At our practice, we can monitor oxidative stress levels, lactate levels as well as insulin levels in various patients to gain a better perspective of inflammation.

In the end, we have to assume that inflammation may be present in a chronic form in many of our patients, especially if there is a chronic disease that we are treating. The question of treatment then comes into play, which raises the point about aspirin. Many NSAID medications have shown potential to decrease the incidence of inflammation to varying degrees. The problem with most NSAIDs is that there are potential side effects and they are not for every patient due to interactions with certain exisiting medical conditions. Given this, we must rely more on diet and herbal therapy from my perspective. Research has shown the ability of various herbs; including curcumin, boswellia and ashwaghanda to both reduce inflammation and the incidence of certain cancers, all with minimal to no side effects.

The take home point is that many of today's diseases are linked with chronic inflammation and thus potentially treatable or at least manageable. As the saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

Food for thought.

Tom Schell, D.V.M.