There are more than 80 different types of autoimmune diseases affecting more than 23.5 million people in the United States, causing disability due to the chronic nature of these disorders. In general, women especially the ones of African American, Hispanics, and Native American racial background have higher risks.
What happens in autoimmune diseases?
An antigen is a substance that has the ability to trigger the immune system. It can be bacteria, virus, fungi, blood or tissue from another person or species, and toxin. When an antigen entered our body, white blood cells produces antibodies to destroy it. There is also a type of white blood cells called the T cells that keeps antibody production in check and make sure it doesn't attack what it's not supposed to. In autoimmune diseases, the antibody turned to attack our own cells and is called auto antibody.
What causes the changes in our immune system behavior resulting in autoimmune diseases is unknown. Some have proposed that the antigen itself triggers this conversion. A similarity between the bacteria or virus genes with our own may confuses our immune system.
An autoimmune disease can target any organ in our body. It can also affect more than one bodily systems at the same time. Blood vessels, red blood cells, glands, joints, muscles, connective tissues, and the skin are commonly affected. Some examples of autoimmune diseases are systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and Graves' disease.
Symptoms
Diagnosing autoimmune diseases provides one the most difficult challenges for physician because the symptoms varies greatly, may come and go, and can mimic other diseases. For most people, the initial symptoms are quite vague: fatigue, muscle aches, low grade fever, and general unwell feeling. Over time, symptoms will develop depending on affected organs.
Management
It's difficult to cure autoimmune diseases because the exact cause is unknown in the first place, but symptoms can be reduced and complications prevented. Treatment plan depends on the specific diseases. Often times, if the symptoms gets worse, immunosuppressive drugs may be needed. These drugs weakens your immune system and infection can be a problem for people who uses them for long terms.
