A MOLECULAR INJURY-RESPONSE MODEL FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF CHRONIC DISEASE

Over the past century, modern medicine has been remarkably effective i n managing acute diseases. However, medical paradigms have been less s uccessful in the understanding and treatment of chronic inflammatory a nd degenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis, connective-tissu e disorders, chronic infections and chronic transplant rejection. Desp ite significant advances In biology over the past two decades, much of this knowledge has yet to be translated to medical practice. In this article, we propose a new framework for chronic disorders that could a id in the correlation of molecular, cellular and clinical data, leadin g to more rational treatments.