What you need to know about autoimmune diseases
The immune system is a complex network of cells and cell components that normally work to defend the body and eliminate infections caused by bacteria, viruses and other invading microbes. Normally, the immune system is capable of differentiating "self" from "non-self" tissue. However, if an individual has an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakenly turns on the self, targeting the cells, tissues and organs of the individual's own body. Many different autoimmune diseases exist, each affecting the body in different ways. For example, in multiple sclerosis, the autoimmune reaction is directed against the brain, while in Crohn's disease it’s the large intestine. Although many of the individual autoimmune diseases are rare, as a group they afflict millions of Americans. Most autoimmune diseases tend to strike women more often than men, and they particularly affect working-age women as well as women during their childbearing years.How does an autoimmune disease develop?
Some autoimmune diseases begin or worsen in response to certain triggers such as viral infections. Some factors, such as sunlight, not only acts as a trigger for the autoimmune disease, in this case lupus, but can also worsen the course of the disease. Certain factors, such as “excessive” exposure to sunlight, if avoided, can help prevent or minimize the amount of damage from a given autoimmune disease. Other, less-understood factors influencing the immune system and the course of autoimmune diseases include aging, chronic stress, hormones and pregnancy.In addition, the genes people inherit contribute to their susceptibility to read more
