Inflammation

After years of suffering from chronically inflamed and infected sinuses, I finally decided I'd had enough. I chose to do what 500,000 other Americans do every year - have sinus surgery. It wasn't an easy decision. I had to balance my need for a fix against my fear of surgery and research that raised questions about the procedure. I was miserable. My sinuses, those supposedly hollow spaces around the nose, had become clogged by scar tissue and the build-up of thickened mucus from decades of infections and inflammation.

Researchers have been swabbing noses with cold viruses for years, discovering that certain lifestyle factors -- such as lack of sleep and stress -- makes a person more susceptible to developing a runny nose, hacking cough, and all-over achy feeling. Now, though, a new study lays out a plausible explanation for why those under chronic stress are likely to get more frequent colds: The body's reaction to the stress hormone cortisol becomes impaired when stress is prolonged, making cortisol unable to turn down the immune reaction that causes cold symptoms.

After Jill Milne and Michael Jirousek left Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2008, they decided to pursue a titillating but largely unproven idea: that fighting inflammation might help control Type 2 diabetes. On Oct. 5, their start-up, Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc. , began to test that theory in humans for the first time, with the initiation of a clinical trial of the Cambridge company's lead drug, CAT-1004. Catabasis created the drug by combining two well-known types of anti-inflammatory compounds: omega-3 fatty acids, typically found in fish oil, and salicylate.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff FORT MYERS, Fla —Andrew Miller is not too concerned about his left elbow, saying he felt fine today and hopes to start playing catch again as soon as Friday. He had originally been scheduled to pitch today against the Cardinals. "Today is better than yesterday, which is better than the day before," Miller said. "They checked out and everything is fine. I think it's just a little bit of inflammation. " Miler pitched two innings against the Twins on Sunday.

Q. Is there a link between heart disease and gum disease? A. There is growing evidence that there is, indeed, such a link, and if you have either condition, you should pay extra attention to treating the other as well. That’s the conclusion of a “consensus’’ statement written by leading gum disease specialists and cardiologists published online earlier this year in the American Journal of Cardiology and the Journal of Periodontology. “The mechanism of the relationship strongly points to inflammation’’ as the culprit in both cardiovascular disease and...

CHICAGO - The odds of obesity appear stacked against black and Hispanic children starting even before birth, provocative new research suggests. The findings help explain disproportionately high obesity rates in minority children. Family income is often a factor, but so are cultural customs and beliefs, the study authors said. They examined more than a dozen circumstances that can increase chances of obesity, and almost every one was more common in black and Hispanic children than in whites.

CHICAGO -- Doctors might be able to gauge their patients' risk of death or heart attack by measuring levels of a growth-factor protein in their blood, a German study suggests. The report adds the protein to a growing list of biomarkers for inflammation that could help predict a person's risk of heart disease and that can be detected through a simple blood test. The newly recognized marker, called "placental growth factor protein," or PlGF, has been shown to contribute to inflammation in the arteries.

Researchers have been swabbing noses with cold viruses for years, discovering that certain lifestyle factors -- such as lack of sleep and stress -- makes a person more susceptible to developing a runny nose, hacking cough, and all-over achy feeling. Now, though, a new study lays out a plausible explanation for why those under chronic stress are likely to get more frequent colds: The body's reaction to the stress hormone cortisol becomes impaired when stress is prolonged, making cortisol unable to turn down the immune reaction that causes cold symptoms.

The New York Yankees have placed reliever Sergio Mitre on the 15-day disabled list because of right shoulder inflammation. The move was made before Tuesday night's game against Tampa Bay. Left-hander Steve Garrison was recalled from Double-A Trenton to replace Mitre. Also, Rafael Soriano started a minor league rehab assignment with Class-A Tampa. The right-handed reliever, who allowed two runs and two hits over 1 1-3 innings in Tuesday night's game against Jupiter, has been out with right elbow inflammation since May 14. Corner infielder Eric Chavez was the DH in the...

European medical researchers have cast doubt on whether a test designed to predict the risk of a heart attack or other cardiovascular complication is as useful as its advocates have reported, a finding that drew sharp challenges from some Boston-area doctors. The report in today's New England Journal of Medicine addresses one of the hottest ideas in the field of cardiology: that inflammation levels in the bloodstream are a powerful predictor of heart attacks. The study questions the value of a blood test already used by some doctors to measure inflammation, and calls for a review of...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Carlos Silva's bid to join the Red Sox rotation was over before he got into a game. The 32-year-old righthander is out indefinitely with pain in his right shoulder, the same issue that limited him to 23 innings in the minors last season. Silva has not pitched in the majors since 2010 and was in camp as a nonroster player. "Silva has some shoulder inflammation that's probably going to set him back enough that he won't be totally in the mix," manager Bobby Valentine said.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Carlos Silva's bid to join the Red Sox rotation was over before he got into a game. The 32-year-old righthander is out indefinitely with pain in his right shoulder, the same issue that limited him to 23 innings in the minors last season. Silva has not pitched in the majors since 2010 and was in camp as a nonroster player. "Silva has some shoulder inflammation that's probably going to set him back enough that he won't be totally in the mix," manager Bobby Valentine said.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Red Sox left fielder Carl Crawford will be shut down for about a week to rest his sore left wrist, manager Bobby Valentine announced Monday. "He was examined and determined that he should curtail his swinging and his throwing for 5-7 days," Valentine said. "A little inflammation was detected. He's going to do just that [rest]. " Valentine would not rule out Crawford being ready for Opening Day but said, "The Opening Day thing is probably not realistic. It's not the calendar.

After Jill Milne and Michael Jirousek left Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2008, they decided to pursue a titillating but largely unproven idea: that fighting inflammation might help control Type 2 diabetes. On Oct. 5, their start-up, Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc. , began to test that theory in humans for the first time, with the initiation of a clinical trial of the Cambridge company's lead drug, CAT-1004. Catabasis created the drug by combining two well-known types of anti-inflammatory compounds: omega-3 fatty acids, typically found in...

We hear that Grammy winner (and former Berklee College of Music student) John Mayer checked into the Four Seasons the other night; he is in town to meet with doctors about his throat problems. Mayer confirmed to fans last month that he had been diagnosed with a granuloma, an inflammation of the throat, which meant that he would have to cancel shows and delay recording his new album. He wrote to fans on his blog at the time, "I've got the best doctors in the country looking after me and I will be singing and touring again as soon as I get the all clear.

The New York Yankees have placed reliever Sergio Mitre on the 15-day disabled list because of right shoulder inflammation. The move was made before Tuesday night's game against Tampa Bay. Left-hander Steve Garrison was recalled from Double-A Trenton to replace Mitre. Also, Rafael Soriano started a minor league rehab assignment with Class-A Tampa. The right-handed reliever, who allowed two runs and two hits over 1 1-3 innings in Tuesday night's game against Jupiter, has been out with right elbow inflammation since May 14. Corner infielder Eric Chavez was the DH in the same game as...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Red Sox left fielder Carl Crawford will shut down for about a week to rest his sore left wrist, manager Bobby Valentine announced. "He was examined (by Dr. Donald Sheridan) and determined that he should curtail his swinging and his throwing for five to seven days," Valentine said. "Little inflammation was detected. He's going to do just that (rest). " Valentine would not rule out Opening Day entirely but admtted, "The Opening Day thing is probably not realistic.

WASHINGTON - Call it a genetic patch job for worn lungs: Canadian researchers took donated lungs deemed too damaged to transplant and repaired them with outside-the-body gene therapy. It will take lots more research to see if the fix lasts, to find out if the lungs work as well back inside a body as they do inside a see-through life-support dome in the laboratory. But the study published yesterday has lung specialists hopeful they can boost the number of lungs available for people desperately in need.