Chronic inflammation is a prolonged and dysregulated immune response that can persist for weeks, months, or even years. Acute inflammation is a normal and necessary part of the body’s defense mechanism against infection and injury. Meanwhile, chronic inflammation occurs when the immune system’s response becomes persistent and starts attacking healthy tissues. This leads to damage and dysfunction.
Chronic inflammation causes disease by continuing the effects of acute inflammation and causing tissue destruction and scarring resulting from healing by repair.
There are three types of chronic inflammatory conditions: autoimmune conditions, autoinflammatory conditions, and delayed-type hypersensitivity conditions.
Autoimmunity occurs when the immune system responds to self-antigens as if they were foreign antigens and causes tissue destruction. The five most common autoimmune diseases in Canada are Addison’s disease, lupus, Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Autoinflammatory conditions occur due to a genetic defect in an inflammatory pathway. While autoimmune conditions generally manifest in middle age, autoinflammatory conditions typically occur early in life. These conditions typically manifest as recurrent episodes of fever and inflammation in various parts of the body.
Delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions take more than 12 hours to develop. They are important for host defense against intracellular parasites. In addition, they involve an inappropriate or excessive immune reaction. In most cases, delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions lead to the formation of granulomas, which are collections of immune cells surrounding the antigen.
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This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
