Inflammation

The inflammation is a particularly complex defence process that can be triggered by tissue damage and has the ultimate goal of eliminating the damage and starting the repair process. The damage may be caused by physical agents (trauma, heat), chemicals (acids, etc.), toxic agents and agents of a biological nature (bacteria, viruses, etc.). The most important symptoms of inflammation are heat (local temperature rise), tumour (swelling) rubor (redness), dolour (pain) and functio laesa (functional impairment of the affected area).

The acute phase of inflammation represents the initial form of response to tissue damage and is mediated by the production and/or release of chemical substances to recall defensive cells to the aggression site.

Anti-inflammatory drugs

The term anti-inflammatory drugs refers to all those compounds that reduce or eliminate local (pain, swelling, heat, functional alteration) or general (fever) events of the inflammatory process.

• Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) exert their anti-inflammatory activity mainly in the initial or acute phase of inflammation. NSAIDS have anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic effects.
• Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (SAIDS) have a more extensive antiinflammatory action and effectively act even on late inflammation events.