What is inflammatory disease?

Acute inflammation – redness, swelling, heat and pain – is your body’s normal response to infection or injury. Specialized immune cells gather at the site of an injury or infection to begin the healing process by getting rid of infectious organisms or the debris caused by injury.

However, sometimes the body produces another kind of low-grade, chronic inflammation. This kind of dysfunctional inflammatory response has recently been linked to the development and progression of many common chronic diseases including asthma, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes, and cancer. These diseases are sometimes called inflammatory diseases.

What is inflammatory arthritis?

Types of arthritis can be put in one of two groups; inflammatory or non-inflammatory.

Inflammatory arthritis is a general term to describe the autoimmune forms of arthritis where the body’s own immune system attacks healthy joints and tissue, causing inflammation and joint damage. It is characterized by the presence of a specific type of blood cell that causes inflammation (inflammatory white blood cells) in the fluid around the joint. Some types of inflammatory arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus arthritis, and gout.

Types of non-inflammatory arthritis include osteoarthritis, arthritis of thyroid disease, and arthritis after injury.