Special edition: Inflammation
Secret killer?
Chronic inflammation made the front cover of Time magazine on February 23, 2004, as the famous weekly news journal explored what it called at the time, "circumstantial" evidence linking inflammation to a wider pool of ailments typically experienced by middle-aged and elderly folks.
"This concept is so intriguing because it suggests a new and possibly much simpler way of warding off disease. Instead of different treatments for, say, heart disease, Alzheimer's and colon cancer, there might be a single, inflammation-reducing remedy that would prevent all three," posited Time at the time.
"Chronic inflammation also fascinates scientists because it indicates that our bodies may have, from an evolutionary perspective, become victims of their own success."