[The_rationalist]

An open question would be wether the baseline inflammation level could be lowered if we implemented a periodic but rarer higher inflammatory level. So a ~flatline vs a sinusoid. It could be pharmacologically simulated.

[dashmeet]

Sounds like exercise or maybe a dry sauna would be a cost effective non pharmaceutical way, short term increase in inflammation that results in a long term decrease in inflammation. Same thing with injuries and fractures but that’s more unrelated.

[hirundo]

Hormesis and the hygiene hypothesis suggest that "working out" can be good for the immune system too. Unfortunately variolation has become a difficult topic.

[The_rationalist]

I don't think doing exercise trigger an inflammatory (immune) response although I might be wrong. Either way your point stand regarding its paradoxical effect on oxidative stress.

[epgui]

Exercise does trigger inflammation through a variety of mechanisms (eg.: increased tissue perfusion and diapedesis, oxidative stress, tissue damage...).

However it also releases endocannabinoids, which are anti-inflammatory, and causes a host of metabolic changes which are also anti-inflammatory.

The overall effect of exercise is to increase inflammation acutely, and to decrease it chronically. Regular physical exercise is overall more modulatory than inflammatory.

[toshk]

Somewhat related to your idea, they seem to have some success with parasitic therapy with things like Crone. Introduce a "harmless" parasite (worm) and the body's immunesystem to trigger it. Not sure how long they keep it in the body, seems to be mostly for a longer time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy

[andreareina]

I don't think I've seen any serious suggestions that inflammation per se causes beneficial adaptations. Rather, <some activity> imposes a stress and the recovery/adaption process is mediated by inflammation, i.e. the why of the inflammation is important.

[epgui]

The basal inflammation level is in fact in large part periodic due to the cortisol cycle.