Researchers have shed light on how the body switches off its
immune response, a key step towards understanding autoimmune
diseases and controlling inflammation. When immune cells die,
they transform into "sponges" that soak up the molecules
responsible for causing inflammation, researchers have
discovered. The new information may lead to better drugs to
treat inflammatory disorders, such as eczema. Inflammation is
characterised by a red, painful swelling around a wound caused
by blood fluids, proteins and immune cells flooding into an area
of the body in response to germs or damage. Its biological
purpose is to allow immune cells to get from the blood to the
trouble spot to fight infection. But too much inflammation can
be devastating. It is what causes death in diseases such as flu,
while chronic, misdirected inflammation causes conditions from
eczema to arthritis. As a result, researchers have been looking
for ways to "turn-off" the inflammatory response. Now, Charles
Serhan and colleagues at Harvard Univer