What is the Origin of Neurogenic Inflammation?

The term combines "neurogenic," meaning originating from the nervous system, and "inflammation," derived from the Latin 'inflammatio' meaning to set on fire, describing the body's protective tissue response to injury or irritation. The fundamental concept of nerves actively participating in and initiating the inflammatory process, rather than merely sensing it, emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the groundbreaking discovery and characterization of various pro-inflammatory neuropeptides.

What is the Mechanism of Neurogenic Inflammation?

The inflammatory process is typically activated when peripheral sensory neurons are stimulated by irritants, physical trauma, or internal homeostatic stressors. This stimulation causes an antidromic impulse, where the electrical signal travels backward down the axon collateral, leading to the rapid release of stored neuropeptides from the nerve terminal into the surrounding tissue. These released neuropeptides then bind to specific receptors on local target cells, including endothelial cells and mast cells, directly promoting the cardinal signs of inflammation, thereby effectively linking the peripheral nervous system directly to the local innate immune response.

Neurogenic Inflammation

Meaning

Neurogenic inflammation is a localized, non-infectious inflammatory response triggered and subsequently sustained by the release of potent pro-inflammatory neuropeptides from peripheral sensory nerve endings, operating independently of a direct, primary immune cell stimulus. In this unique process, afferent nerve fibers, typically unmyelinated C-fibers, release substances such as Substance P and Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) into the surrounding tissue microenvironment. This neuropeptide release leads to characteristic local effects such as pronounced vasodilation, a significant increase in vascular permeability, and mast cell degranulation, collectively contributing to redness, swelling, and localized pain, often implicated in conditions like migraines, psoriasis, and states of highly sensitive skin.

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