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March 2, 2009

How Inflammation Causes Fatigue

New research published in the Journal of Neuroscience, indicates how inflammatory diseases make us feel so tired and run down. In mice with inflamed livers, white blood cells called monocytes cross the blood brain barrier causing feelings of fatigue, malaise and loss of social interest.

In the past, scientists believed that these monocytes did not cross into the brain, but this new revelation may be an important finding for disease treatment. Inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, and liver disease may be treated with new drugs to block the chemical signals that attract monocytes to the brain.

"The brain is the master coordinator of many of our bodies' defense responses, so it must be able to sense injury and inflammation in distant body organs. This study starts to explain the peripheral communication signals that activate the brain."

Though the article doesn't mention it, this may be good news for people with Fibromyalgia. Characteristics of the chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia suggest pain and growth neurotransmitters exist in high amounts in the cerebrospinal fluid. Symptoms of overwhelming fatigue and malaise may finally implicate what is really happening in the body with these syndromes.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health fibromyalgia

Posted by linda at March 2, 2009 9:34 PM