A DIFFERENT AND PHYSIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO MANIPULATING THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE

The mainstay of present anti-inflammatory therapy is prostaglandin inh ibition. This form of therapy assumes that all prostaglandins have inf lammatory action. This, however, is not true. The prostaglandins deriv ed from arachidonic acid have inflammatory effects, but those from lin oleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid are definitely anti-inflammatory. Blanket prostaglandin inhibition, therefore, results in overkill. Phys iological anti-inflammatory treatment decreases the levels of prostagl andins derived from arachidonic acid by increasing those derived from linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid. The same argument holds true for th e leucotrienes which are, on average, more potent inflammatory or anti -inflammatory mediators.