Because of this, scientists have worked hard to find biomarkers of inflammation.
These tests measure what are called inflammatory biomarkers.
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What Are Biomarkers?
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Biomarkers are a broad category.
For example, a persons blood pressure is a jot down of biomarker.
Imaging tests likeX-raysare another subcategory of biomarkers.
Similarly, there is variability in what exactly biomarkers are testing.
What Are Inflammatory Biomarkers?
A biomarker that gives information about inflammation might be called an inflammatory biomarker.
During inflammation, some of the connections joining your cells can become leaky.
Because of this, more fluid than normal can fill an area.
A lot of other things also happen that are harder to see.
Some types of immune cells may become activated.
Some cells begin releasing certaincytokines.
These are special signaling molecules made by your immune system.
These signals can activate even more cells of the immune system, releasing even more cytokines.
Some cells may also release certain proteins that activate other parts of the immune system.
Acute Inflammation
Sometimes inflammation goes away on its own.
This is called acute inflammation.
For example, this might happen to a person with a twisted ankle.
The immune system eventually turns off the inflammatory signal, and the area returns to normal.
This can happen in people withautoimmune diseaseslike rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, and many others.
More cytokines and more specific immune cells might be present in an area than normal.
Depending on where in the body this is happening, it can cause specific symptoms.
For example, someone with rheumatoid arthritis has excess inflammation in their joints.
Researchers are still learning about the complex reasons people develop chronic inflammation.
Inflammation is a complex series of actions and reactions in your body.
So, it makes sense that there isnt one single test that measures it.
Different inflammatory biomarkers give slightly different information about what is going on.
A CBC measures:
Changes in the components of your blood can contribute to inflammation.
For example, elevated WBC and platelet counts with low hemoglobin is a surrogate for inflammation.
CBC gives broad information relevant to a lot of different diseases which involve inflammation.
Technically, it measures changes to red blood cells (erythrocytes) which can happen due to inflammation.
It may be elevated in many different inflammatory medical conditions, including most of the same ones as CRP.
Procalcitonin
Procalcitoninis another acute phase reactant produced by the liver in response to inflammatory signals.
It may be elevated in a number of different inflammatory conditions.
Ferritin
Ferritin is a protein in blood that contains iron.
Fibrinogen
Fibrinogen is a protein produced by the liver.
It is the primary protein that helps blood clots to form, assisting with wound healing.
Checking fibrinogen levels can help determine if cancer treatment is working or if the cancer has worsened.
Abnormalities may mean that your condition is likely to be partly brought on by inflammation.
These tests can also be used to monitor for the level of a persons disease activity, like forlupus.
This might impact the kind of treatment your doctor suggests.
Sometimes, these biomarkers might be used to give an idea about your disease prognosis.
However, other research argues that these increased inflammatory markers may also be a nonspecific response to cancer development.
But this might change in the future.
Often, more than one marker of inflammation is used at the same time.
This can give a more accurate view about whether inflammation is really present.
Inflammatory Biomarker Limitations
One important limitation is that these tests are considered nonspecific.
That means that they cant be used on their own to diagnose disease.
That makes sense, because inflammation is a part of so many different diseases.
In other words, knowing that your body has inflammation doesnt tell youwhythat inflammation is happening.
Its important to note that this is a rapidly changing area in medicine.
Right now, there are relatively few markers of inflammation that clinicians regularly use.
For example, we might eventually use some of these markers to estimate a persons risk for cancer.
Inflammatory biomarkers are also very helpful when researchers evaluate new potential treatment options.
However, not every inflammatory biomarker is like this.
For some, having a lower than normal number might mean that inflammation was involved.
Your own experience of your symptoms often gives information that is helpful as well.
Ask your doctor if you have questions about the interpretation of your specific test results.
Additionally, your doctor can prescribe therapies that can help treat the underlying cause and reduce inflammation.
Researchers are still learning about the best ways to use inflammatory biomarkers to diagnose and monitor disease.
Many others are used in specific circumstances or in research.
Inflammatory biomarkers can often give good information about whether inflammation is present, especially when used together.
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