Neuroinflammation occurs when your body’s immune response triggers to protect you against any potential threats. While the evolutionary response is often effective in fighting against disease and protecting your brain from injury, neuroinflammation can become a significant problem if it turns into something chronic. Prolonged high levels of inflammation in the brain can cause damage and affect cognitive performance.
For example, head trauma sends immediate signals to your immune system and triggers a response. An inflammatory response is initially designed to rally resources to the cut, bruising, or other areas of concern. However, excess inflammation is sometimes associated with harmful items like cytokines that trigger worse injuries, tumors, and more.
Two common diseases associated with neuroinflammation include meningitis and encephalitis. Both of these lead to infections that result in longer-term damaging inflammation. Also, many age-related brain diseases, like dementia and Alzheimer’s, are brought on faster or made worse by neuroinflammation.
Preventing inflammation in the brain and the rest of the central nervous system is critical to avoiding preventable injuries. It also helps protect cognitive performance in people as they get older. Here are some things you need to know about the different types of neuroinflammation and what you can do for treatment.
The Type of Neuroinflammation
Here are some of the most common types of neuroinflammation.
Age-Related Neuroinflammation – Many of the most common diseases of the brain that affect older people are related to inflammation. For instance, Alzheimer’s Disease is tied to higher levels of neuroinflammation. In fact, it’s one of the main characteristics of the disease. Research shows that older brains already have higher levels of inflammation than their younger counterparts because they have more cytokines tied to inflammation.
Psychiatric Illnesses
More and more research is indicating that psychiatric disorders are also tied to neuroinflammation. Genetic and environmental factors can contribute to prolonged neuroinflammation that then cascades into things like low levels of serotonin and depression. Some evidence points to a link between inflammation and autism, mood disorders, and even schizophrenia.
Infection
As stated above, some of the most common and severe brain infections are tied to high levels of neuroinflammation. Encephalitis and meningitis are serious conditions that require a great deal of medical treatment.
Treating Neuroinflammation
When treating any type of inflammation, one of the most important things to do is find its source. Remember, inflammation is typically your body’s way of responding to some internal threat. There may be some type of lingering injury, infection, or disease that’s causing your body to respond. Treating the source of inflammation is likely to lower levels of inflammation in the brain and any associated symptoms.
Most people with abnormal neuroinflammation experience a great deal of pain. As a result, doctors prescribe pain treatments. Anti-inflammatories and corticosteroids are also very helpful. There is a body of evidence to suggest that it’s crucial to replenish natural hormone levels that are diminished after long-term inflammation. Using vitamin B12 and giving patients neurohormones can restore mood balance and resolve disrupted cognitive functions.
Peptides & Neuroinflammation
Melanotan 1 is a synthetic analog of the alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. It was initially developed as a sunless tanning product, but it has since been found to have a number of positive uses related to central nervous system function. Research shows that the MC1 receptor is partly responsible for mediating inflammation in the central nervous system. Administering Melanotan 1 can help manage inflammation in tests done on mice. In one such test, for instance, the mice given Melanotan 1 were able to prevent neuron damage by interfering with helper T cell function.
