CYTOKINES MAY EXPLAIN WHY YOU HURT 

It’s good for you to know a little something about ‘cytokines.’ 

‘Cyto’ is Greek for ‘cell,’ ‘kine’ for movement, like ‘kinetic.’ ‘Cytokines’ are molecules released by cells during episodes of ‘stress,’ like an injury, an infection, or fighting a cancer. Some cytokines increase inflammation, imaginatively called pro-inflammatory cytokines, others decrease it: anti-inflammatory cytokines. They cause pain by activating pain sensitive nerves. 

Our various anti-inflammatory medications and herbs relieve our discomforts by reducing our pro-inflammatory cytokines. During the COVID pandemic the most sick patients were given high doses of steroids to lower what doctors realized was the dramatically named cytokine storm. Sometimes this worked but 15-20 million people died worldwide from SARS and although COVID is under control, cytokines themselves as part of our body’s function will always be with us. 

Two statistics may interest you. First, every 5th person who had COVID likely had or still has one of the 200 manifestations of “long COVID.” This is a separate condition caused by the immune system’s inability to completely clear the SARS virus so there’s a constant smoldering inflammation throughout the body. 

This inflammation produces ‘microclots’ of a protein called ‘amyloid’ which in turn reduces the oxygen supply to cells ‘everywhere.’ End result? Dozens and dozens of seemingly unrelated symptoms with virtually no “positive” tests (except for cytokine levels, which aren’t routinely measured). 

The second statistic (I said there were two, remember?): if you had any sort of an inflammatory disease before you had COVID, the extra jolt of cytokines threw it into high gear afterward. A return of your rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc. 

Some more cytokine facts: 

Since cytokines cross the blood brain barrier, they’re the villain in the symptom of ‘brain fog’ that accompanies so many inflammatory diseases (like the “fibro-fog” of fibromyalgia).

Because the basis of Long COVID is essentially a failure of the immune system to completely clear the SARS virus, strengthening the immune system and reducing inflammation become important aspects of treatment. 

Because chronic inflammation damages the lining of the intestinal wall, it becomes permeable to large molecules that ‘leak’ through, triggering even more inflammation. “Leaky gut” needs to be diagnosed and treated in any situation of chronic inflammation with or without a previous COVID infection. 

Most astonishing has been the dramatic effect of the GLP-1 weight loss meds (Ozempic, Zepbound, etc.) on cytokines. Fat cells are storehouses of cytokines so as patients lose weight, their cytokine levels drop. But even normal or underweight patients can feel relief from a variety of inflammatory illnesses like fibromyalgia, chronic brain fog, rheumatoid arthritis when give small doses of GLP-1s. 

Finally, since someone invariably asks this: “I was told that fibromyalgia was not an inflammatory disease and that the two tests for inflammation, the sed rate and the hsCRP, were normal. 

Yes, that’s correct. But those tests don’t measure cytokines. 

If you’re concerned about your cytokine status, schedule an appointment with your WholeHealth Chicago practitioner or register as a new patient. There actually is a blood test called “Cytokine Panel” covered by most health insurers but rarely ordered by conventional physicians. If you’ve got elevated inflammatory cytokines, your practitioner will then work with you to find the root cause of your hidden inflammation. This could be long COVID, chronic Lyme or another tick borne illness, candida, parasites, leaky gut, mold biotoxin inflammation or simply an unhealthy lifestyle. If you feel “inflamed,” this test will show that you’ve been right all along.

Be well,

David Edelberg, MD