Pharmacology of Inflammation

Abstract

Inflammatory reactions in the central nervous systems (CNS), that is neuroinflammation, are involved in a number of acute and chronic pathological conditions ranging from stroke to multiple sclerosis and chronic neurodegenerative processes such as Alzheimer's disease. The CNS is considered an immunoprivileged site and differs in many aspects from peripheral tissues with respect to accessibility for immune cells and humoral factors, local antigen presenting cells and biological characteristics of resident cells such as neurons and glia. As a result, neuroinflammation, particularly when it runs a chronic course, differs in numerous aspects from such processes outside the brain. Besides the involvement of neuroinflammation in CNS tissue damage, inflammatory processes may also be beneficial for tissue repair. Here, we describe the factors contributing to the CNS immune privilege, the cellular and humor components that participate in neuroinflammation, the interactions between immune system and CNS, and focus on the pharmacological strategies to treat neuroinflammation.