From: BBC News, March 2004

Scientists have unlocked one of the secrets behind how inflammation develops in the body. They believe that their discovery could have major therapeutic benefits for the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, asthma and cancer.

Researches from the Medical Research Council and Oxford University have unraveled the structure and function of a protein at the heart of the process of inflammation. It has been found that certain sugar molecules that form a part of a protein called CD44 have a vital role to play in the regulating of whether or not inflammation takes place.

In the absence of proper regulation, CD44 is the cause of inflammatory diseases. Dr. Tony Day states, “This exciting discovery should now make it possible to devise new strategies to prevent or reverse CD44 activation and this could have major therapeutic effects for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer.