This has happened to me -
512 pg/ml for IL-6 and 102 pg/ml for the TNF. Both numbers should be single digit ideally.
Measurements made 4 weeks into a washout period.
Any ideas anyone?
IL-6 can increase as a result of a bacterial infection.
Feel perfectly well and no obvious reason how I could have picked up a bacterial infection.
(By the way, maxed out at 10mg once a fortnight taken with water so certainly wasn’t overdoing it).
Strange… any other possible reasons for the TNF alpha increase?
Key takeaways:
~ TNF-alpha (tumor necrosis factor alpha) is an inflammatory cytokine produced by the immune system to fight off pathogens and cancer cells.
~ Chronic elevation of TNF-alpha levels is linked to autoimmune diseases, skin infections, gum disease, heart disease, depression, and neurodegenerative diseases.
~ Genetic variants can increase your susceptibility to chronically elevated TNF-alpha.
~ Understanding your genes can help you find targeted, natural solutions for chronic inflammation.
What triggers TNF-alpha release?
As a cytokine, TNF is used by the immune system for cell signaling. If macrophages (certain white blood cells) detect an infection, they release TNF to alert other immune system cells as part of an inflammatory response.
Both can happen as a result of an infection. I had an infection over Xmas and possibly two infections, but was essentially asymptomatic. I know I had the infections because of a jump in CRP (the last measurement I had for CRP was actually zero, but that will be an error by that lab in its reporting).
Thank you John and Rapadmin for your replies.
Fingers crossed it is that rather than the explanation as per a google search (cancer - same one that my mother died of!!) - will have to check my CRP, but that will have to wait as I’m off to Sweden tomorrow for some skiing.
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