Understanding inflammation – and above all, how to regulate it – is one of the great medical challenges of modern medicine. Its role as the first line of defence is crucial. It occurs when the presence of infectious agents triggers an inflammatory response. As well as hindering the entry of viruses and bacteria, this acts as a distress signal, attracting other components of our immune system.

But excessive inflammatory response can be harmful. Indeed, poor regulation of inflammation plays a central role in the way many illnesses develop.

One example of this is COVID, where illness becomes more severe not so much because of the virus itself, but because of our inflammatory response to it. At the height of the pandemic, treatments that worked best in the most seriously ill patients included inhibitors that control the excessive inflammation associated with infection.

Controlling inflammation is not just vital in fighting infections. It is also a cornerstone of immunotherapy, fighting cancer, and treating autoimmune diseases. Additionally, poor inflammation control may be associated with coronary illness, cellular ageing, and neurodegeneration linked to Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.

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