Some autoimmune disorders include: Diabetes Type I — affects the pancreas. Symptoms include thirst, frequent urination, weight loss and an increased susceptibility to infection. Graves' disease — affects the thyroid gland.
Symptoms include weight loss, elevated heart rate, anxiety and diarrhoea. Inflammatory bowel disease — includes ulcerative colitis and possibly, Crohn's disease. Symptoms include diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
Multiple sclerosis — affects the nervous system. Depending on which part of the nervous system is affected, symptoms can include numbness, paralysis and vision impairment. Psoriasis — affects the skin. Features include the development of thick, reddened skin scales. Rheumatoid arthritis — affects the joints. Symptoms include swollen and deformed joints. The eyes, lungs and heart may also be targeted. Scleroderma — affects the skin and other structures, causing the formation of scar tissue.
Features include thickening of the skin, skin ulcers and stiff joints. Systemic lupus erythematosus — affects connective tissue and can strike any organ system of the body. Symptoms include joint inflammation, fever, weight loss and a characteristic facial rash. Immune system malfunction Immune system cells called T lymphocytes T cells use special receptors on their surfaces to identify foreign microbes, such as bacteria and viruses.
Ana-Maria Orbai, M. Rheumatologists specialize in diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal diseases and autoimmune conditions rheumatic disease. Orbai talks about how to recognize common autoimmune disease symptoms and when you should see a doctor. There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases that affect a wide range of body parts.
Symptoms of autoimmune disease may be severe in some people and mild in others. Despite the varying types of autoimmune disease, many of them share similar symptoms. Common symptoms of autoimmune disease include:. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of conditions considered to be autoimmune. Some typical or common examples include:.
What all of these conditions have in common is evidence that the body's immune system is in some way responsible. For example, a skin biopsy may show immune cells collecting near an area of a rash; or, there may be antibodies circulating in the blood that are targeting normal tissues. In addition, medications that suppress parts of the immune system may be effective treatment.
Still, for most of these conditions, the idea that they are autoimmune in nature is suggested by the evidence but difficult to prove; in fact, certain autoimmune diseases may turn out be due to an infection or allergic reaction and the immune abnormalities are just a reaction.
The immune system is exceedingly complex and decades of research have illuminated some of the ways it goes awry in autoimmune disease. But, for most autoimmune illness — including those mentioned above — the true cause is unknown. The most common and quite general theory is that a person with a particular genetic background that makes them prone to immune system 'misfiring' encounters an environmental trigger such as an infection or a toxin and that sets off autoimmune disease.
For the most part, we don't know the trigger or toxin and in a particular population or family or even among identical twins we don't know why some people develop these conditions and others don't.
These gaps in our knowledge slow the development of effective treatments or preventive measures. Treatment depends on the condition but most autoimmune conditions are treated with medications that suppress or otherwise alter the immune system hoping to dampen it down enough to quiet the disease but not so much that side effects including infections develop.
But you can't catch them from other people. Who is at risk for autoimmune diseases? What are the symptoms of autoimmune diseases? How are autoimmune diseases diagnosed? To help your doctor find out if an autoimmune disease is causing your symptoms, Learn about the health conditions in your family history. What health problems did your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins have? Write down what you learn and share it with your doctor.
Keep track of your symptoms, including how long they last and what makes them better or worse. Share your notes with your doctor. See a specialist who deals with the symptoms that bother you most. For example, if you have rash, see a dermatologist skin doctor. What are the treatments for autoimmune diseases?
Start Here. Diagnosis and Tests. Related Issues. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
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