The immune system of many people fails to differentiate between healthy cells and invader micro-organisms. This is creating more suffering around the world. The immune system is being attacked by the immune defenses to diseases that were once there to defend them.
Research efforts across the globe are accelerating to combat this trend. An example is the London Francis Crick Institute initiative which James Lee and Carola Vinesa two experts from around the world in this field, have created separate research groups that will aid in determining the precise causes of autoimmune disorders.
Lee stated to the Observer, that autoimmune cases increased in the west around 40 years back. But, the diseases are now being seen in countries which have never experienced them before.
The Middle East, East Asia and Africa have experienced the greatest increase in cases of inflammatory bowel disease over the last few years. Prior to that, they had never had any experience with the disease.
Type 1 diabetes may be caused by rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. In each of these cases the immune system becomes confused and shifts to healthy tissues over infectious agents.
The UK has at least 4,000,000 individuals suffering from these ailments. There are also numerous other. Globally, it is believed that the incidence of autoimmune diseases is rising by 3 to 9 percent per year. Numerous scientists believe that environmental factors are a key cause of this growth.
Lee who worked previously at Cambridge University, said that the human genetic makeup has not changed over the last few decades. It seems that something is taking place in the world outside which is increasing our vulnerability to autoimmune diseases.
The idea was supported by Vinuesa, who was previously an instructor at the Australian National University. She noted that there had been shifts in diets because more people were eating western-style meals and more fast food.
Vinuesa explains that many fast food products lack essential ingredients such as fibre. This could alter the microbiome of a person, which is the collection micro-organisms present in our bodies which plays a critical function in controlling various bodily functions.
These changes in microbiomes lead to autoimmune diseases. There are more than 100 kinds.
Both researchers said that certain people have a higher risk of developing these diseases. These include celiac and lupus, which can trigger swelling and inflammation and lead to damage to various organs including the heart.
Vinuesa clarified that autoimmune Check out diseases aren't something you can develop if you don't have a specific genetic susceptibility. "There's no thing we can prevent the world-wide growth of fast food franchises. Instead, we're working to figure out how autoimmune conditions are caused and what genetic causes make certain people more susceptible to the disease than others. "We are trying to address the problem at this point."
With the development of technology, researchers are capable of identifying tiny differences between individuals' DNA. It allows us to find common genetic patterns among people with autoimmune diseases.
Lee states that even though we had the tools for sequencing DNA up to a large extent until recently however, it was not possible. When I began my research, we knew about half a dozen DNA variants that could trigger inflammation in the bowel. More than Read More 250 are now identified.
Lee and Vinuesa are working on this research because they wish to know how the genetic pathways work and the causes of the various diseases that doctors are currently looking into. Vinuesa said that there are many variants of autoimmune diseases, like Lupus. That can make it difficult to identify the appropriate treatment.
Although there are many potentially efficient new therapies currently in development, we don't yet know which patients they should be given to. This is due to the fact that we do not know the specific type of disease. This is an important aspect in research into autoimmune diseases. We have to learn how to classify and stratify patients so that we can provide them with the appropriate therapy.
Lee stated that the rising incidence of autoimmune disease around the globe means that new treatments and medications are needed now more than ever. It is not possible to treat autoimmune diseases. This happens when people are young and trying to complete their college education and get their first job, and also have families.
This means that a growing number of people are having to have surgery or will require injections regularly throughout their entire life. It can be grim for patients, and put a huge strain on health services. We require innovative and effective treatment methods.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune conditionthat is due to the immune system attacking healthy tissue in the body. This is an unanswered question.
The antibodies that your immune system makes to attack viruses and bacteria are the ones you require to fight off infection.
Your immune system might accidentally send antibodies to joints when you suffer from rheumatoid. The antibodies attack surrounding tissue.
The thin layer of cells (synovium) that cover your joints, gets inflamed and sore.
bones
Cartilage - The connective tissue that joins bones and cartilage
Tendons connect muscles to bone
ligaments - the tissue which connects cartilage to bone
If rheumatoid disease isn't treated it will cause the joint to loose its shape. In the end, it could cause the joint to be destroyed completely.
There are many theories as to why the immune response targets joints. For example an infection could be the trigger. However , none of these theories is proven.
Possible risk factors
Rheumatoid-related arthritis can result from a variety of reasons, such as:
The genes you carry - There is some evidence that Rheumatoid arthritis is passed down through families. But the chance of passing it to children is very low as genes play an insignificant influence on the condition.
hormones. Rheumatoid arthritis is more prevalent among women than in men. This may be because of the impacts of the hormone oestrogen, although this link has not been established.
Smoking - Evidence suggests that those who smoke are more likely to get rheumatoid arthritis.