BrainImmune: Trends in Neuroendocrine Immunology | Expert views & state of art in neuroendocrine immunology & stress-immunity research by BrainImmune.com. Both fundamental & clinical aspects and their impacts on health & disease.

Microglia: Gatekeepers for Neuropathic Pain

Overview article Introduction Where acute pain protects an individual from further damage, chronic pain serves no adaptive purpose. Approximately 1 in 5 people suffer from chronic pain, which exacts a substantial toll on the both the individual and on national economies (Gaskin and Richard, 2012;

The Cross-talk between the Dopaminergic System and Innate Immunity: An Evolving Concept

Evolving Concept Dopamine (DA) is a well-known neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). An increasing body of evidence, however, indicates that DA is also an important communication mediator at the neural-immune interface [1-3]. Most research and studies to date have put the emphasis on

An Evolving Concept: The Pathologic Level of Brain TNF is a Therapeutic Target for Chronic Pain Treatment

Evolving Concept Chronic pain is a serious healthcare dilemma with many treatment options available, such as antidepressants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids, and anticonvulsants; nevertheless, chronic pain presently is not appropriately managed. A fundamental reason for the lack of effective treatment is that none of these

The selfishness of the brain and immune systems provoke energy deficiency in aging and chronic inflammation

Evolving Concepts “I feel exhausted with mental stress and with systemic inflammation, but why?” In recent publications [1-5], in highly active chronic inflammatory diseases, I demonstrated how energy shortage due to an active and selfish immune system can stimulate a plethora of common signs and

Brain Superautoantigens: Connections between Immune and Neural Repertoires

Opinion Article Introduction Although human cells express a quasi-infinite number of potential autoantigens, only a limited range of the human “self” antigen library is actually targeted by pathological autoimmunity. Accordingly, the clinical expression of human autoimmunity is essentially restricted to relatively few stereotyped disorders including

Pro-Inflammatory Th17 Cells and Glucocorticoid Resistance: Implications for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases and Their Treatment

Evolving Concepts Summary Th17 have heterogeneous phenotypes and functions, and can have pro- or anti-inflammatory activities. Pathogenic Th17 cells have been associated to several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Besides IL-17A and IL-17F, they also produce GM-CSF and IFN-γ, and express high levels of IL-23R. These…