The immune system of many people is failing to distinguish between healthy cells from invading microorganisms. This is leading to greater suffering throughout the world. Their organs and tissue are being attacked by the disease defenses which they had previously.
Major international research efforts are being conducted to stop this trend. An initiative based in London called the Francis Crick Institute, has two world-class experts. James Lee & Carola Vinuesa set up separate research teams to figure the causes behind the autoimmune condition.
Lee told the Observer that the occurrence of autoimmune diseases began to increase about 40 years ago, in western nations. However, these illnesses are now being seen in countries which have never experienced them before.
For instance, the Middle East/East Asia has seen the largest recent rise in inflammatory-bowel disease cases. Prior to that, they had never had any experience with the disease.
Autoimmune disorders can be a variety of conditions, from type 1 diabetes to multiple Sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis. In each case the immune system becomes confused and switches to healthy tissue instead of infectious agents.
The conditions have been identified by at least 4 million people living in the UK. Some sufferers may suffer from multiple. According to global estimates that the number of patients suffering from autoimmune disorders is increasing by between 3% - 9percent each year. The reason for this is believed to be caused by environmental factors, according most researchers.
Lee who worked previously in Cambridge University, said that the human genetic makeup hasn't changed in the past decades. So something must be changing around the world in a manner that's increasing our predisposition to the autoimmune disease.
Vinuesa who was a former student at the Australian National University, supported this notion. She discussed the shifts in food habits that took place when more nations adopted west-style diets and people were eating more fast food.
Vinuesa stated that fast-food meals are deficient in certain essential ingredients like fiber. Research suggests that this change could alter the microbiome of a person which is the accumulation of microorganisms that reside in our gut. Microorganisms play a crucial role in controlling many bodily functions.
Changes in microbiomes could then trigger autoimmune disorders. More than 100 types of autoimmune disorders have been identified.
The two scientists also stressed that every person is at risk of developing these illnesses, which include celiac, Lupus, and various other illnesses such as celiac that cause swelling and inflammation and can cause significant damage to various organs.
"If you don't have a particular genetic susceptibility but you don't have to be at risk of developing an auto-immune disease, no matter how many Big Macs eat," said Vinuesa. "There is not a lot that we can do to halt the spread of fast food franchises. Instead, we're working to figure out how autoimmune conditions are caused and what genetic causes cause certain individuals to be more vulnerable to the disease than others. That is the level that we are aiming to address this issue."
Because of the advancement of technology, researchers are now in a position to detect small differences in people's DNA. This allows us to discover the common genetic traits in those suffering from autoimmune diseases.
Lee says that although we had tools to sequence DNA a large extent until recently but it was not feasible. When I started doing studies, we were aware of half a dozen DNA variants which were responsible for triggering inflammatory bowel disease. Today, we have over 250.
Lee and Vinuesa have been pursuing such work because they want to learn more about how genetic pathways work and what causes the different diseases that doctors are examining. Vinuesa says that it is now evident that there are numerous types of autoimmune disorders, like Lupus. They could all be caused by various genetic pathways. If you're trying find the most effective treatment, this can be a problem.
There are a lot of new treatments that may be beneficial, but we don’t have the appropriate patients. Actually we do not have the necessary information to determine if patients have the same condition. This is the aim of research into autoimmune diseases. We must learn to categorize and stratify patients, so that we can give them the right treatment.
Lee said that the increasing rate of autoimmune illnesses across the globe meant that innovative drugs and treatments were urgently required. Lee also said that there's at present no treatment for autoimmune diseases. These tend to occur in young people as they try to finish their education, find a job, and start families.
This means that Check out more people will need surgery, or will require regular injections for the rest their lives. It's a very stressful experience for patients as well as an enormous strain on health services. It is imperative to find innovative methods that are more effective and efficient.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune conditionthat is due to the immune system attacking healthy tissue in the body. However, it's not clear what triggers it.
Your immune system normally produces antibodies that attack viruses and bacteria to help combat infection.
Your immune system may accidentally send antibodies to your joints if you suffer from Rheumatoid. These antibodies attack the surrounding tissue.
This causes the thin layer of cells (synovium) that covers the joints to become swollen and inflamed. It releases chemicals that damage nearby:
bones
cartilage - the stretchy connective tissue between bones
Tendons are the connective tissue that Check out connects bone to muscle.
Ligaments The ligaments are the tissues that connects bones and cartilage.
If the problem isn't treated, it can gradually cause the loss of alignment and shape. The chemicals may eventually lead to the destruction of the joint in its entirety.
There are many theories about why the immune system attacks joints have been proposed for example, an infection acting as an underlying cause, however none of them have been confirmed.
Possible risk factors
There are many factors which can increase your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis including:
Genes. There are some indications that arthritis rheumatoid may run in families. Since genes play only a small part in the course of development, there is little chance that the condition will be passed on to the next generation.
Hormones-Rheumatoid Ailment is more common for women than men. This could be due to the estrogen effects, but it isn't proven.
Smoking is a risk factor. Some research suggests that smokers are more at risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis.