Definition
Acute inflammation is a rapid, resolving response that protects and heals. Chronic inflammation is a lower-grade, sustained response that does not fully resolve and contributes to a wide range of diseases.
Why it matters
Acute inflammation is a friend. Chronic inflammation, unchecked, is not. Conflating them fuels both under-treatment (of the chronic form) and over-fear (of the acute form).
The Science
Acute inflammation involves calor, dolor, rubor, tumor, and functio laesa — heat, pain, redness, swelling, and impaired function — and is followed by active resolution phase mediated by specialized pro-resolving mediators. Chronic inflammation is characterized by ongoing low-grade cytokine elevation, tissue remodeling, and is linked to cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, some cancers, depression, and neurodegeneration.
The NSI Perspective
NSI treats inflammation as a signaling event, not a moral event. The task is discernment: which kind is happening, is it resolving, and what supports resolution.
Clinical Implications
Screening for chronic inflammatory contributions in cardiometabolic and mood disorders is increasingly standard. Random anti-inflammatory interventions without a target are usually unhelpful.
Practical Application
A sore ankle that swells and heals is inflammation working. Persistent low-grade inflammation is a different animal — quieter, longer, and worth naming.
References
- 1.Serhan CN. Pro-resolving lipid mediators are leads for resolution physiology. Nature. 2014;510(7503):92–101.