All over the world, people are suffering more because their immune systems can't discern between healthy cells from invader microorganisms. Instead of protecting themselves from disease, their organs and tissue are attacked by these same defenses.
International research efforts are underway to stop this trend. A London-based organization, the Francis Crick Institute, has two world-class experts. James Lee & Carola Vinuesa established separate research teams to find the causes behind autoimmune disease.
Numbers of autoimmune cases increased about 40 years ago in the west, Lee told the Observer. However, these diseases are now being seen in countries that have never had them before.
For instance, the largest recent increase in cases of inflammatory bowel diseases has been in the Middle East and east Asia. They'd never heard of the disease prior to.
Type 1 diabetes may be accompanied by rheumatoid and multiple sclerosis. In each case the immune system becomes confused and shifts to healthy tissue over infectious agents.
The UK has at least 4,000,000 people who have these conditions. There are also many other. According to international estimates the amount of people suffering from autoimmune diseases is on the rise by anywhere from 3% to nine percent per year. Researchers believe that environmental triggers are the primary reason for this increase.
Lee, who was previously based in Cambridge University, stated that genetics hasn't changed much in recent decades. There must be something happening outside that is increasing our chances of developing autoimmune disease.
Vinuesa was the one who was the one who believed in this concept. Vinuesa was previously at the Australian National University. She cited the changes in food habits that were occurring as more and more countries adopted western-style diets , and people bought more fast food.
Vinuesa indicated that the lack of essential ingredients in fast-food food can result in a decrease in intake of important nutrients, including fibre.
These changes in our microbiomes can trigger an autoimmune disease, and over 100 types have now been discovered.
The scientists both highlighted the importance of individual susceptibilities in acquiring such diseases. Lupus and celiac disease are two additional conditions that can trigger swelling and inflammation, which can result in damage to various organs, including your heart.
Vinuesa claims that anyone who doesn't suffer from a genetic susceptibility will not get an autoimmune disease, regardless of how many Big Macs they consume. "There isn't much that we can do to halt the worldwide spread of fast-food franchises. Therefore we're trying to understand the fundamental genetic mechanisms that underpin the autoimmune diseases that make certain individuals susceptible, while others are not. "We are trying to address the issue at this level."
Due to the advances in technology, researchers are in a position to detect tiny differences between individuals' DNA. This is how it's possible to identify the common genetic patterns of those suffering from an auto immune disease.
Until very recently we did not have the tools for this, however, we have this incredible power to analyze DNA on a massive scale, and it has transformed everything, said Lee. We Check out only knew about half dozen variations of DNA that could cause inflammatory bowel diseases when I started my study. More than 250 are known.
Such work lies at the foundation of Lee and Vinuesa's research efforts, which aim to find out how these various genetic pathways function and to unravel the many different types of diseases doctors are studying. Vinuesa explained that there may be multiple variants of diseases that are autoimmune, such as Lupus. This could have an adverse impact on your ability to determine the best treatment.
There are a lot of beneficial therapies developing constantly however, we aren't sure what patients to recommend them Read More to, because we've realized that we aren't sure of the type of disease they have. That is why autoimmune research has become a major focus. To provide the best treatment, we have to understand how to classify patients.
Lee said that the escalating cases of autoimmune diseases across the globe meant that new therapies and medicines were urgently needed more than ever before. It's not possible to treat autoimmune diseases. This is especially true when young people are trying to finish their education, get a first job, and have families.
It means that a growing number of patients will need undergo surgery or receive regular injections. This can be extremely stressful for patients, and also a huge strain on the health care system. It is therefore essential to come up with effective and novel methods of treatment.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an immuno-mediated disease. But, we don't know what triggers it.
Your immune system produces antibodies that fight against viruses and bacteria, which helps to fight off infections.
If you have Rheumatoid Arthritis, your immune system mistakenly sends antibodies to the joint's lining and target the tissue around the joint.
The delicate layer of cells (synovium) that covers your joints, becomes inflamed and painful.
bones
cartilage is the connective tissue between bones
Tendons - the tissues which connects muscle to bone
Ligaments are the connective tissue between cartilage and bone.
If rheumatoid doesn't get treated it will cause the joint to lose its shape. These chemicals could eventually lead to the destruction of the entire joint.
Though there are many theories about why the immune system targets the joint, none of them have been confirmed.
Possible risk factors
There are many factors that increase the risk of developing rheumatoid, for example:
Your genes are a factor - there's evidence to suggest that arthritis may be passed down through families, but the likelihood of passing it on is thought to be low as genes are only thought to play a tiny part in the disease
Hormones-Rheumatoid Ailment is more common among women than in men. This may be due to estrogen-related effects, however this isn't confirmed.
Smoking cigarettes - There is evidence that those who smoke are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis.