Running Interference: Fresh approach to fighting inflammation
By Nathan Seppa
The more scientists learn about inflammation, the less they like it. Although this bodily process speeds wound healing and corrals microbes, it can also do plenty of harm, as seen in people with arthritis, asthma, and a host of other ailments. Unfortunately, today’s anti-inflammatory drugs pose their own problems. They cause stomach distress in many people, and some drugs seem to hike the risk of heart attacks. So, the search for a safe inflammation fighter goes on.
Bruce D. Hammock, a biochemist at the University of California, Davis, and his colleagues now report that two experimental drugs shield lab mice from extreme inflammation. The findings appear in the July 12 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.