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Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a common musculoskeletal, inflammatory condition, characterized by severe pain in the heel, to the extent that it limits day-to-day activities. The plantar fascia ligament, a fibrous connective tissue, supports the arch of the foot and functions as a shock absorber. With increased activity, the ligament can experience tears and damage, leading to the development of PF. Treatment for PF includes pain management through anti-inflammatory drugs, stretching exercises, night-splint therapy, steroidal medications, and extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT). While ESWT has proven to be beneficial and effective in reducing heel pain, it is expensive and has adverse...

Prediabetes is a condition that precedes type 2 diabetes. Scientists now show how and by which mechanisms prediabetes can be brought into remission, i.e., into a state in which blood glucose levels return to normal. 1,105 individuals with prediabetes underwent a lifestyle intervention involving a healthy diet and increased physical activity for a duration of one year. Responders were the participants whose fasting blood glucose, 2-hour glucose, and HbA1c levels had normalized within twelve months, indicating remission. Non-responders were individuals who did not achieve remission despite losing weight. It was not weight loss that distinguished those who went into remission,...

Nerve cells that make up the gray matter in our brain allow us to perform different tasks. They are interconnected millions of times by nerve fibers running deeper in the brain, called axons. Many of these axons are wrapped by a cellular "insulating tape." The insulating cover is made of myelin, a lipid-rich substance that coats axons in up to 150 layers. Together, axons and myelin form what is known as white matter. When a signal is transmitted from one cell to the other by means of an electrical nerve impulse, it literally jumps from one node to the next....

Researchers have provided important molecular understanding of how injury may contribute to the development of a relatively rare but often aggressive form of brain tumor called a glioma. The UCL team have now identified a possible mechanism to explain this link, implicating genetic mutations acting in concert with brain tissue inflammation to change the behavior of cells. Professor Parrinello said, "Normally astrocytes are highly branched, but we found that without p53 and only after an injury the astrocytes had retracted their branches and become more rounded. They weren't quite stem cell-like, but something had changed. So we let the mice...

Rejuvenating an older person's blood may now be within reach, based on recent findings. An anti-inflammatory drug, already approved for use in rheumatoid arthritis, can turn back time in mice and reverse some of the effects of age on the hematopoietic system. "These results indicate that such strategies hold promise for maintaining healthier blood production in the elderly," Mitchell says. The researchers only identified the drug after a comprehensive investigation of the stem cells that create all blood cells and the niches where they reside in the center of the bones. Mitchell took a closer look at the stem cells'...

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian scientists have discovered pineapple molecules can act as powerful anti-cancer agents and said the research could lead to a new class of cancer-fighting drugs. Scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) said their work centred on two molecules from bromelaine, an extract derived from crushed pineapple stems that is used to tenderise meat, clarify beers and tan hides. One of the molecules, CCZ, stimulates the body's immune system to target and kill cancer cells, the other, CCS, blocks a protein called Ras, which is defective in 30 percent of all cancers. QIMR researcher Tracey...

Macrophages are cells that play a key role in inflammation. And now, new research — led by Trinity College Dublin in Ireland — has found a previously unknown process that can switch off the production of inflammatory factors in macrophages. green macrophage Scientists find an 'off-switch' for inflammation in macrophages (depicted here). The researchers suggest that the new discovery improves our understanding of inflammation and infection. They hope that it will lead to new treatments for inflammatory diseases such as heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Overweight Hispanic Children Shown To Have Vascular Inflammation ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2008) — Overweight Hispanic children with normal blood glucose (sugar) levels showed elevated markers for blood vessel inflammation that may predispose them to developing both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, says a new study led by researchers from the Joslin Diabetes Center. The study, published in the March issue of Diabetes Care, is the first to focus on Hispanic children, already known to be at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes as a result of both genetic and lifestyle factors. "Our findings suggest that these children are...

Dr. Russel Blaylock explains how to reduce inflamation. Get the full story about cholesterol.

Body reveals its inflammation 'off switch' 18:00 01 October 2006 NewScientist.com news service Deb MacKenzie Researchers have shed light on how the body switches off its immune response, a key step towards understanding autoimmune diseases and controlling inflammation. When immune cells die, they transform into “sponges” that soak up the molecules responsible for causing inflammation, researchers have discovered. The new information may lead to better drugs to treat inflammatory disorders, such as eczema. Inflammation is characterised by a red, painful swelling around a wound caused by blood fluids, proteins and immune cells flooding into an area of the body in...

HOUSTON (Sept. 16, 2005) - Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have found that human fat cells produce a protein that is linked to both inflammation and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. They say the discovery, reported in Journal of the American College of Cardiology, goes a long way to explain why people who are overweight generally have higher levels of the molecule, known as C-reactive protein (CRP), which is now used diagnostically to predict future cardiovascular events. And they also report...

Can a dietary supplement pick up the pieces? Glucosamine, often recommended for joint pain, is one of the most popular supplements on the market. And considering the health concerns recently associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, I thought it would be worth looking into whether glucosamine lives up to the hype.Background: Glucosamine and chondroitin are often combined together and used to treat osteoarthritis (OA), which occurs when the cartilage covering the end of the bone near the joint breaks down. OA affects the knees, backs, hips, hands and feet of more than 21 million people over age 45. And, according to...

Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol (November 24, 2004). doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00693.2004 This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Murase, T. Articles by Tokimitsu, I. Submitted on October 7, 2004Accepted on November 20, 2004 Green tea extract improves endurance capacity and increases muscle lipid oxidation in mice Takatoshi Murase1*, Satoshi Haramizu1, Akira Shimotoyodome1, Azumi Nagasawa1, and...

Unorthodox 'immune modulation therapy' holds promise for patients with heart failure It sounds like the brainchild of a mad scientist: Draw blood from the arm, heat it up, pump it with oxygen and bombard it with ultraviolet light and then re-inject it into the patient's butt. But as strangely unorthodox as it may seem, the process -- called immune modulation therapy -- may well be a legitimate and effective means of treating heart failure. Even cardiologists, a traditionally conservative group, are excited. "I remember thinking, when I first heard about this: 'This is very weird,' " said Debra Isaac, an...