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| Autoimmunity |
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| What is Autoimmunity? |
| What is Autoimmunity? The healthy human body is equipped with a powerful set of tools for resisting the onslaught of invading microorganisms. Unfortunately, this set of tools, known as the immune system, sometimes goes awry and attacks the body itself. At least ten million Americans suffer from the more than eighty illnesses caused by autoimmunity. John Hopkins Medical Institutions. (Also see: Antibodies) |
| Autoimmunity. Welcome to Ed's Pathology Notes, placed here originally for the convenience of medical students at my school. I am good at helping people find resources and answers. |
| American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, Inc. |
| Causes of Autoimmunity |
| Vaccines and Autoimmune Diseases of the Adult. Infectious agents contribute to the environmental factors involved in the development of autoimmune diseases possibly through molecular mimicry mechanisms. Hence, it is feasible that vaccinations may also contribute to the mosaic of autoimmunity. H. Orbach. Discovery Medicine. February 4 2010. |
| The danger model in deciphering autoimmunity. Autoimmunity has been a topic of intensive research for several decades, yet amazingly, no uniform hypothesis exists to explain the basis for the spectrum of autoantibody specificities seen in autoimmune diseases. The emerging picture is one in which disruption of tissue homeostasis takes centre stage, with the antigen-presenting cells as the key players. A. Tveita. Rheumatology Advance Access. February 9 2010. |
| How arthritis thrives. The links between autoimmune diseases, infections, genetics and the environment are complex and mysterious. Why are people who live near airports more susceptible to autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus? How do hormones in meat trigger the onset of a disease? Tel Aviv University. Physorg.com. 01/25/10. |
| An outbreak of neurological autoimmunity with polyradiculoneuropathy in workers exposed to aerosolised porcine neural tissue: a descriptive study. Between November, 2006, and May, 2008, a subacute neurological syndrome affected workers from two swine abattoirs in Minnesota and Indiana who had occupational exposure to aerosolised porcine brain. The neurological disorder described is autoimmune in origin and is related to occupational exposure to multiple aerosolised porcine brain tissue antigens. D. Lachance, MD. The Lancet Neurology. Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages 55 - 66, January 2010. |
| Natural killer (NK) cells in atopic and autoimmune diseases of the skin. NK cells are best known for their ability to recognize and kill tumor cells and virally infected cells and for their ability to produce large amounts of some cytokines, such as IFN-γ. We believe that there is solid evidence that NK cells actively participate in a number of diseases that have not been traditionally linked to this type of lymphocyte, including atopic and autoimmune diseases of the skin. D.V. Bubnoff, MD. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Volume 125, Issue 1, Pages 60-68 (January 2010). (Also see: Natural Killer Cells) |
| Bacteria linked to autoimmune disease. Researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington said their animal study found a unique type of lipid known as phosphorylated dihydroceramides produced by some bacteria -- in this case by human bacteria commonly found in the mouth called porphyromas gingivali. UPI.com. 11/25/09. |
| Why are women predisposed to autoimmune rheumatic diseases? In searching for an explanation for this female excess, most attention has focused on hormonal changes - both exogenous changes (for example, oral contraceptive pill) and fluctuations in endogenous hormone levels particularly related to menstruation and pregnancy history. J.E. Oliver. Arthritis Research & Therapy. October 26 2009, 11:252. |
| Air pollution as a potential contributor to the 'epidemic' of autoimmune disease. Although there is only a small amount of published data directly examining a possible causal relationship between air pollution exposure and autoimmunity, data from related fields suggests that it could facilitate autoimmunity as well. (PubMed) SA Ritz. Medical Hypotheses. August 8 2009. |
| Drug-induced autoimmunity. Even though DIA has been known for many years, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. However, with recently described new and unexpected features, novel hypotheses have been proposed, thus opening doors to further research in understanding these mechanisms. F. Dedeoglu (UnBound) Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2009 Jul 9. |
| Structures From Immune System's Oldest Branch Shed Light On A Range Of Diseases. Two new structures, both involving a central component of an enzyme important to the complement system of the immune response, reveal how this system fights invading microbes while avoiding problems of the body attacking itself. The structures may pave the way to more efficient therapeutics for such complement-mediated diseases as age-related macular degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis, or systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as give insight into the pathogenesis of other immune and inflammatory diseases. Medical News Today. 06/18/09. |
| Cumulative Childhood Stress and Autoimmune Diseases in Adults. Childhood traumatic stress increased the likelihood of hospitalization with a diagnosed autoimmune disease decades into adulthood. S. Dube, PhD. Psychosomatic Medicine 71:243-250 (February 2009). (Also see: Stress and Disease) |
| Chromosomal region 16p13: further evidence of increased predisposition to immune diseases. Our data evidence the influence of variants within this chromosomal region on the development of complex diseases. A. Martinez. Ann Rheum Dis. February 16, 2009. |
| Autoimmunity Cells Found in Healthy Adults. The self-attacking B cells to blame for autoimmune diseases could be on the loose in all of us. (Ivanhoe) Medical Breakthroughs. 01/02/09. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: B cells) |
| Epstein–Barr virus in autoimmune diseases. The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a plausible candidate for playing a role in the pathophysiology of some autoimmune diseases. É Toussirot. (ScienceDirect) Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology Vol 22, Issue 5, Octr 2008, Pp 883-896. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma) |
| The X in sex: how autoimmune diseases revolve around sex chromosomes. It is important not to overlook men with autoimmune diseases, who might manifest a more frequent loss of the Y chromosome in circulating leukocytes. Taken together, sex chromosome changes might constitute the common trait of autoimmunity. (ScienceDirect) Carlo Selmi, MD. Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology. October 2008. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma) |
| Autoimmune diseases induced by TNF-targeted therapies. The use of anti-TNF agents has been associated with an increasing number of cases of autoimmune diseases, principally cutaneous vasculitis, lupus-like syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus and interstitial lung disease. (ScienceDirect) Manuel-Ramos Casels, MD. Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology. October 2008. (Also see: TNF Inhibitors) |
| Autoimmune diseases in coeliac disease: effect of gluten exposure. In this study, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in patients with late coeliac disease diagnosis does not correlate with duration of gluten intake. (SageJournals) A. Ouaka-Kchaou. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. November 1, 2008. (Also see: Celiac Disease) |
| How Cells Die Determines Whether Immune System Mounts Response. Every moment we live, cells in our bodies are dying. One type of cell death activates an immune response while another type doesn't. This finding eventually could have important implications in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. NewsWire. 07/15/08. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma) |
| Review: Vitamin D, immunity and lupus. Patients with autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus show low 25-OH vitamin D serum levels. (Sage Journals) Lupus, Vol. 17, No. 1, 6-10 (2008). (Also see: Vitamin D Deficiency) |
| Diagnosis of Autoimmunity |
| Early Detection of Autoimmune Disease. Autoimmune diseases are some of the most difficult to diagnose. According to author Mary J. Shomon, it takes an average of five years and four doctors to get a correct diagnosis. Linda Fugate. Empowher.com. 01/28/10. |
| Antibodies as predictors of complex autoimmune diseases. Clinicians should be aware that the detection of antibodies should not automatically mean that a patient will definitely become ill, but would rather give a percentage of risk for autoimmune disease over subsequent months or years. Vojdani. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2008 Apr-Jun;21(2):267-78. (PubMed)(Also see: Antibodies) |
| Polyautoimmunity |
| Association of TNFSF4 (OX40L) polymorphisms with susceptibility to Systemic Sclerosis. It is increasingly being appreciated that multiple autoimmune diseases share common susceptibility genes. Polymorphisms in the TNFSF4 gene region are associated with susceptibility to SSc and its clinical and autoantibody subsets. TNFSF4 may be another gene that confers risk to multiple autoimmune diseases. Pravitt Gourh Ann Rheum Dis. 23 September 2009. (Also see: Genetics and Scleroderma) |
| Risk of co-existing autoimmune diseases in 3309 index cases with auto-immune thyroid disease (AITD) and their relatives. AITD patients and their parents are at increased risk of co-existing autoimmune diseases; brothers of AITD subjects are particularly likely to have thyroid dysfunction. Kristien Boelaert. Endocrine Abstracts (2008) 15 P385. (Also see: Thyroid Disease) |
| Polyautoimmunity In Patients With Systemic Sclerosis(SSc). Polyautoimmunity is frequent in patients with SSc, and autoimmune diseases cluster within families of these patients. A. Rojas-Villarraga THU0314 EULAR 2007. (Also see: Scleroderma in Overlap) |
| Symptoms of Autoimmunity |
| Association of autoimmune type atrophic corpus gastritis with Helicobacter pylori infection. Signs of H. pylori infection in autoimmune gastritis, and positive autoimmune serum markers in H. pylori gastritis suggest an etiological role for H. pylori in autoimmune gastritis. L.I. Verijola. World Journal of Gastroenterology. January 7 2010. |
| The case for autoimmunity in the etiology of schizophrenia. The literature on autoimmunity as a possible mechanism in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia can be conflicting, but there is a substantial amount of circumstantial, although not conclusive, evidence of immune dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia. (PubMed) Goldsmith CA. Pharmacotherapy 2008 Jun 28(6):730-41. |
| Erectile Dysfunction (ED): An Important Clinical Symptom Associated With Rheumatologic Disease. ED is an important clinical symptom physicians of all disciplines should be aware about it. However, in patients where ED occurs first and more “typical” explanations like hypertension, diabetes and others were excluded, physicians should think about the possibility of an underlying autoimmune disease. J. Rech AB0523 EULAR 2007 (Also see: Erectile Dysfunction) |
| Cardiac involvement in systemic inflammatory diseases. Modern sophisticated imaging techniques reveal cardiac abnormalities in most of these diseases and the reported frequency of cardiac involvement ranges widely depending upon the applied diagnostic methods and selection of patients. European Heart Journal. Vol 28, No 15 Pp. 1797-1804. (Also see: Cardiac Involvement) |
| Treating Autoimmunity |
| Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in autoimmune diseases. Growing experience with autologous HCST in autoimmune diseases has progressively reduced concerns about transplant-related mortality and secondary myelodysplasia/leukemia. Therefore, a sustained complete remission seems to be within the reach of autografting in some autoimmune diseases; in others, the indications, risks and benefits of autografting need to be better defined. C. Annaloro. Expert Review of Hematology. December 2009. |
| Biologics: Target specific treatment of systemic and cutaneous autoimmune diseases. Consensus needs be formed to further categorize the clinical profiles of the patients in whom biologics are to be used in the future, given that the long-term safety profiles of these agents are very much unknown at present. Siba P Raychaudhuri. Indian Journal of Dermatology. 3 Jul 2009. (Also see: Biologic Agents) |
| Can infections protect against autoimmunity? Studies using animal models have shown that some infectious agents or products derived from them have the potential to inhibit the onset of autoimmunity. These studies have led to the suggestion that human autoimmune or allergic diseases might be alleviated by the use of microbial products. W. Gaisford. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. Volume 21, Issue 4,p 391-396. July 2009. |
| Genetic Evidence Points To Potential Therapeutic Bypass For Autoimmune Process. Bypassing a molecular breakdown that helps trigger autoimmunity could lead to new treatments for autoimmune disorders and chronic infections that sicken or kill thousands of children annually, according to researchers. Science Daily. March 4, 2009. |
| Leprosy Drug Holds Promise for Autoimmune Diseases. A century-old antibiotic used to treat leprosy may prove effective as a treatment for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases, Johns Hopkins researchers say. HealthDay News. February 4, 2009. |
| Prevention of autoimmune disease by induction of tolerance to Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7). These findings suggest that induction of TLR7 tolerance might be a new therapeutic approach to subdue inflammation in autoimmune diseases. T. Hayashi. PNAS. February 2, 2009. |
| Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation researchers discover rogue immune cells in healthy adults. A new study from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has discovered that lurking in the bodies even of healthy people are numerous rogue immune cells, the cause of rheumatoid arthritis and a host of other diseases. The new findings could be key to developing new ways to prevent and treat autoimmune diseases, conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and type I (juvenile) diabetes that, in total, affect up to 24 million Americans. OMRF. January 6, 2009. |
| Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for autoimmune disorders. Updates of published trials and data from the registries indicate a long-lasting, immunosuppression-free condition in about 50% of the patients who underwent an HSCT for a severe, progressive autoimmune disease. (PubMed) Saccardi R. Curr Opin Hematol. November 2008. (Also see: Stem Cell Transplant) |
| Autoimmunity and Other Diseases |
| Autoimmunity and HIV.The
cause, frequency and prognosis of autoimmune conditions associated with HIV
infection remain somewhat uncertain. Their management is often empirical with
the use of novel immunosuppressive medication. R. Stratton. Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases. February 2009. |
| Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and Autoimmunity |
| The effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on autoimmune disease: rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Prospective trials suggests that there may be a small increased risk of mild/moderate flares in women with SLE taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but the risk of major flare does not appear to be increased. In RA, HRT does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of disease flare and may actually improve disease activity. In all individuals with autoimmune disease, the risk of venous thrombosis associated with oral HRT is an important factor that should also be considered. (InformaWorld) C.R. Holroyd. Climacteric. October 2009. |
| Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can shrink women's brains. The latest study found two key areas of the brain involved in thinking and memory were smaller in women who had taken HRT than in those who had been given a "dummy" placebo pill. BBC. 01/13/09. |
| Related Books |
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. Despite the prevalence of autoimmune disease, surveys show that more than 90 percent of people cannot summon the name of a single autoimmune disease when asked to name one specifically. Excerpt from book by Donna Nakazawa. Alert.net. 03/19/08. (Also see: