Posted: 12/14/05 - 01:00 Post subject: autoimune diseases
Hello! Is there anybody who could explain how autoimune diseases
work? What happens that people get sick of these diseases? Thx in advance for the info!
Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. This means that the body attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes self tissues for nonself and mounts an inappropriate attack. The result is an autoimmune disease. There are more than 40 human diseases classified as either definite or probable autoimmune diseases and they affect 5-7% of the population. Almost all autoimmune diseases appear without warning or apparent cause and most patients suffer from fatigue. The causes of autoimmune diseases are still obscure. Most autoimmune diseases are probably the result of multiple circumstances like a genetic predisposition triggered by an infection. Autoimmune diseases can each affect the body in different ways. For example, the autoimmune reaction is directed against the brain in multiple sclerosis and the gut in Crohn's disease. In other diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), affected tissues and organs may vary among individuals with the same disease. Most autoimmune diseases strike women more often than men, particularly affecting women of working age and during their childbearing years.
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