Autoimmune Disorders Can Kill

Simply stated, autoimmune diseases and disorders can result when your immune system mistakes the tissues of your own ("auto") body for a foreign invader and attacks them. The invaders come in the form of viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. The immune system sends out cells and molecules not to attack them, but rather to target the components of the body it resides in, creating inflammation. But that's the only thing that's simple about autoimmune disorders, and in fact, much research still needs to be done in this area.

What cells and molecules are involved in autoimmune reactions? Some of them are lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, MHC molecules, cytokines, and chemokines, The autoimmune reactions they are involved in may be directed towards the brain (multiple sclerosis), the digestive system (Crohn's disease), or a number of different targets, depending on the individual. For example, lupus may damage the kidney and lungs in one person and the skin and joints in another. And this is often permanent damage, as in Type I diabetes mellitus, in which the pancreas's insulin-producing cells are destroyed.

Millions of American suffer from autoimmune disorders. More women than men develop autoimmune diseases, particularly young and working women. Older men are also more prone to autoimmune disorders. Why? One theory is that testosterone can protect the immune system in adulthood.

As a left hander, an intriguing finding for me from numerous studies is that left handers seem to be at higher risk for autoimmune disorders than right handers. In a UK study, lefties were twice as likely to have Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and type I diabetes. Another British study indicated that left handers had three times the rate of autoimmune diseases than right handers, and a third study has found a higher rate of immune diseases among autistic children, who are often left handed. Some scientists postulate that autoimmunity in left handers has to do with seasonal variations in births, and others that it is related to testosterone in fetal development negatively affecting both the brain and immune system. At any rate, I've suffered on and off from thyroiditis, which is considered an autoimmune disorder.

Autoimmune diseases also tend to be found in certain ethnic groups. Lupus is more common among Hispanic and African-American women, and rheumatoid arthritis is found more often in Native Americans. There may be genes shared by a family that create susceptibility to autoimmune diseases in general or to a specific autoimmune disease. The good news is that autoimmune disorders are not contagious.

Environmental factors may also play a role in autoimmune disorders, depending on how an individual's immune system reacts to noxious stimuli. Other suspected contributing causes are sunlight, pregnancy, infectious agents, hormone levels, stress, and aging. Many autoimmune disorders are chronic, and few are curable, so a lifetime of medical observation and therapy to treat symptoms and slow disease progression is usually required.

Another difficulty is that autoimmune disorders have symptoms in common with many diseases and are hard to diagnose. And symptoms tend to wax and wane; the disease can go into remission for long periods and then recur.

The CIDPUSA International Foundation, which focuses on people suffering from autoimmune disorders, reports that autoimmunity is involved in at least 80 diseases. It offers a partial list of autoimmune disorders, warning that doctors don't necessarily agree that they all belong in this category.

· Alopecia areata: Hair loss on head and body.

· Ankylosing spondylitis: Inflammation of spine and sacroiliac joint.

· Arthritis: Joint inflammation.

· Autoimmune hemolytic anemia: Weakness caused by depleted red blood cells.

· Autoimmune hepatitis: Inflammation of liver.

· Behçet's disease: Sores of mouth and genitals.

· Crohn's disease: Intestinal disease causing diarrhea and weight loss.

· Dermatomyositis: Red rashes on knuckles, eyes, and other body parts and muscle inflammation.

· Diabetes mellitus, type 1: Inability to use glucose for energy.

· Glomerulonephritis: Inflammation of the kidney.

· Graves' disease: Excess thyroid hormone with palpitations, heat intolerance, nervousness, weight loss.

· Guillain-Barré syndrome/CIDP (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy) Weakness of limbs and sometimes paralysis.

· Inflammatory bowel disease: Intestinal inflammation, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

· Multiple sclerosis: Muscular weakness, lack of coordination, vision and speech problems.

· Myasthenia gravis: Weakness, vision, chewing and talking difficulties.

· Myocarditis: Inflammation of heart.

· Pemphigus/pemphigoid: Itching and blisters.

· Pernicious anemia: Weakness due to decreased red blood cells, related to autoimmune thyroid diseases.

· Polyarteritis nodosa: Inflammation of arteries.

· Polymyositis: Inflammation of muscles.

· Primary biliary cirrhosis: Destruction of bile ducts of liver.

· Psoriasis: Scaling and inflammation of skin.

· Rheumatic fever: Inflammation of joints and damage to heart valves, sometimes from strep infection. .

· Rheumatoid arthritis: Inflammation of joints and sometimes other organs.

· Sarcoidosis: Small growths (granulomas) in skin and other organs.

· Scleroderma: Thickening of skin and blood vessels.

· Sjögren's syndrome: Extreme dryness of mouth, eyes, and other tissues.

· Systemic lupus erythematosus: Fatigue, rashes, and joint pain, often with damage to internal organs.

· Uveitis: Inflammation of inner eye structures.

· Vitiligo: White skin patches on body.

· Wegener's granulomatosis: Inflammation of blood vessels, lungs, and respiratory tract.

Currently, autoimmune disorders are treated with immunosuppressive drugs, chemotherapy, and insulin in the case of diabetes. Scientists are working to develop treatments with fewer side effects.

If you suspect that you have an autoimmune disorder, report your symptoms to your physician. Remember that if left untreated, some autoimmune diseases can kill, and even with treatment, they can cause a lot of damage.