A recent article in Newsweek “How we narrowly avoided a depression” (Robert J Samuelson – Newsweek 10/12) just caught my attention. Its business commentary but in a way, it relates so directly to our work. Samuelson drew distinctions between 1929 and 2007-09, and talked about The Depression as one of serious economic downturn and paralyzing fear. He adds that “a devastating loss of confidence inspires behavior that overwhelms the normal self-correcting mechanisms . . . normal anxieties are converted into abnormal fears that trigger panic”. He’s talking about society but he might just as well be talking about human nature….

For the past 5 years, Inflammation has been an up-front focus… and even in this teleseminar series, a front-burner topic simply because of inflammation’s increasingly common and threatening presence. So Dr. Shealy has argued that inflammation is the root of all disease. We’ll devote the whole hour on this important topic. So be sure you’re signed up. Meanwhile, go to the comments and tell us what you think.

How can inflammation signal healing yet at the same time, be the culprit in undermining our good health? We’ve all had the experience of inflammation – we trip or fall, our ankle or knee swells. We get a surface cut, it bleeds. We get blisters or hotspots, there’s redness and warmth. These signs of inflammation just mean that “the body” is rushing in with the “first aid” it needs to heal. And after a few days, the swelling goes down, redness begins to dissipate, and our white blood cells and T-cells return to their usual “at ease” patrol. Healing is…