Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Prolotherapy

I wonder where Molly found the link between blepharitis and autoimmune. This is what the Mayo clinic has to say about the causes of blepharitis:

Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff

Blepharitis occurs when tiny oil glands located near the base of the eyelashes malfunction. Blepharitis is often a chronic condition, meaning that it may require long-term care.

Diseases and conditions that can cause blepharitis include:

. Seborrheic dermatitis — dandruff of the scalp and eyebrows
. A bacterial infection
. Malfunctioning oil glands in your eyelid
. Rosacea — a skin condition characterized by facial redness
. Allergies, including allergic reactions to eye medications, contact lens solutions or eye makeup
. Eyelash mites

Blepharitis may be caused by a combination of factors.



I was a little confused by this statement - can you help me understand? You weren't intending to suggest that stomach cancer and bleeding ulcers were symptoms of autoimmune arthritis, were you?

I've read information about the purpose of inflammation in the body as part of the healing process before. I just thought this particular prolotherapy article explained it very well.

Here are some other links that explain the purpose and process of inflammation in the healing process:

The first is from wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wound_healing

The second is from a sports injury site:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/general/inflammation.php

This one is from the Active Health Centre:

http://www.activehealthcentre.com/inflammation.html

None of them have anything to do with prolotherapy. I just thought the prolotherapy article contained a good description of the process.

been thinking about this for awhile, as you said, inflammation is part of the natural healing process, yet, autoimmune inflammatory processes are not very good, as we can all attest to. is it "too much of a good thing"? is it just inflammation run amuck. if inflammation is such a good thing in the healing process then why is it such a bad thing in autoimmune disease? if inflammation helps heal tendons and ligaments, then why does inflammation cause them to tear in the first place, as i can attest to? lots to think about.........

How do you know that inflammation caused your torn tendons, rather than inflammation occurring as a result of torn tendons? I think the chicken and the egg analogy continues to be useful here.

Interesting topic, good inflammation versus bad inflammation?

I had a quick google and found a few bits of information. Here's the first:

Acute Inflammation: The Good Side of Inflammation
The acute inflammatory response to tissue damage is of great value. By
•isolating the damaged area,
•mobilizing effector cells and molecules to the site, and — in the late stages —
•promoting healing,
inflammation protects the body.

Its importance is demonstrated by the problems people with inherited defects in components of the process have with infections.

Some examples:

•a failure to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) [Link to discussion]
•inherited defects in the ability to produce the later complement components (C5, C6, C7, C8, C9) increase the risk of certain infections.

Chronic Inflammation: The Bad Side of Inflammation
In chronic inflammation, the inflammatory response is out of proportion to the threat it is dealing with or directed against inappropriate targets. In the first case, the result can be more damage to the body than the agent itself would have produced.

Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases
•All the many types of allergies and
•many of the autoimmune diseases
are examples of inflammation in response to what should have been a harmless agent.
Some examples:

•Asthma
•Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
•Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
•Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
In many of these cases, the problem is made worse by the formation of antibodies against
•self antigens or
•persistent antigens from smoldering infections.
The antibodies complex with the antigens triggering the complement system with all its mediators of inflammation.
The result: immune complex disorders.

This also appears to be a helpful link explaining the difference:

http://www.medicineatmichigan.org/magazine/2005/spring/lungs/default.asp

I have a simple way of thinking about it

Good inflammation:

If you hit your foot with a hammer, and it needs to heal, your immune system responds with inflammation to the area, sending blood and nutrients to that area. A side effect of the inflammation is pain, also good really, which is also useful to tell you to avoid using that area, and to let you know that it needs to be protected

Bad inflammation:

But if your immune-response is malfunctioning, in may incorrectly cause an area to become inflamed, even without a trigger like a physical injury. Like when we get iritis, for no apparent reason. In those situations, the inflammation is unwelcome, and it in itself becomes the problem!

That's a good way of thinking about it, Dow, although it looks as though the inflammatory process does more than just send blood and nutrients to the area.

Hi Wendy - piling in here. Sjogren's is autoimmune, blepharitis is not autoimmune. Sjogren's affects the tear ducts - one can 'lacrimae' like a leaking tap, a 'badly' leaking tap! (As happens with me, and that's when Punctal plugs are a god-send). My p.ps. have fallen out, but TG have the horrible tearing about under control.

Have never had blepharitis. That's basically bacterial caused, yes?

Hi Molly,

Blepharitis can be bacterial but can have other causes. The ones I listed earlier were:

. Seborrheic dermatitis — dandruff of the scalp and eyebrows
. A bacterial infection
. Malfunctioning oil glands in your eyelid
. Rosacea — a skin condition characterized by facial redness
. Allergies, including allergic reactions to eye medications, contact lens solutions or eye makeup
. Eyelash mites

It makes sense that you were referring to Sjogren's. I've had inflamed tear ducts myself - luckily not too serious. If I kept out of sun and wind it wasn't too bad and eventually cleared up.

has taken years of observation, thinking, talking to doctors, etc, but here are some of my thoughts at this point.

1. when i take an antiinflammatory like an nsaid or cox 2 inhibitor, while i can before the side effects kick in, or like prednisone, i have no or reduced inflammation and don't damage my tendons either.

2. like a few of the examples i gave earlier in the thread. i'll use my dq tendons as an example. there are times i can type up a storm and my wrists do not develop tendonitis. then when i flare, even a small amount of typing causes tendonitis to develop. then when they are inflamed, then i'm more likely to pull or tear a tendon (or ligament), can actually feel it "rip" in my wrists, feet, etc. yes, it hurts! ouch! have seen this succession of events over and over now.

3. wearing a flector patch since april now, except during my big flare in august where the inflammation was just too great for the flector patch to control, my SI joint has been really good. so an antiinflammatory agent stops all symptoms. thus the most likely conclusion is that the antiinflammatory agent prevents the inflammation. and thus the inflammation was most likely causing all the other problems.

so its kind of like watching cause and effect after all these years, one starts to see trends.

when things were just bad all the time, couldn't tell cause and effect. but if i can get myself pretty good in between, then can observe the process unfold.