Neuroscience Café

UAB Presents: Your Brain on Fire

Inflammation is your body’s first line of defense against infection and injury and normally shuts down after healing occurs.

But trouble can arise when the inflammation process gets stuck “on” and doesn’t know when to stop. Then inflammation can turn on your body, attacking healthy cells, blood vessels, and tissues instead of protecting them. You can develop chronic inflammation anywhere in the body — including the brain. Unlike the inflammation of an injury or arthritis, brain inflammation doesn’t cause pain since the brain has no pain receptors. Chronic inflammation can lead to all sorts of seemingly unrelated problems including allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, chronic infections, colitis, dermatitis, sinusitis, arthritis, and any other health condition that ends in “itis.” It’s been dubbed a silent killer since it contributes to seven of the top ten leading causes of death. Join us and ind out what can be done to reverse inflammation of your brain.

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