Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body attacks its own cells. Autoimmune diseases are a major cause of immune-mediated diseases.
Today there are more than 40 human diseases classified as either definite or probable autoimmune diseases, and they affect 5% to 7% of the population. Almost all autoimmune diseases appear without warning or apparent cause, and most patients suffer from fatigue.
Few examples:
Alopecia Areata, Allergic granulomatosis and angiitis, Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, Anklosing spondylitis,
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia, Autoimmune retinopathy, Behcet's syndrome, Bullus pemphigoid, Dermatitis herpetiformis,
Discoid lupus erythematosus, Epidermolysis bullosa, Graves' Disease, Gullain-Barre syndrome, Hashimoto's thyroiditis,
Kawasaki disease (KD), Meniere's Disease, Myasthenia gravis, Neutropenia, Orchitis, Primary biliary Cirrhosis,
Raynaud's phenomenon
Gender influence
Women tend to be affected more often by autoimmune disorders; nearly 79% of autoimmune disease patients in the USA are women. Also they tend to appear during or shortly after puberty. It is not known why this is the case, although hormone levels have been shown to affect the severity of some autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.[1] Other causes may include the presence of fetal cells in the maternal bloodstream. [2]
Diseases with a complete or partial autoimmune etiology: Accepted Autoimmune diseases The "Mesh" column lists those conditions that are classified as autoimmune by
the MeSH system. Diseases suspected or theorized to be linked to autoimmunity are:
Autoimmunity is the failure of an organism to recognize its own constituent parts (down to the sub-molecular levels) as self, which results in an immune response against its own cells and tissues. Any disease that results from such an aberrant immune response is termed an autoimmune disease. Prominent examples include Coeliac disease, diabetes mellitus type 1 (IDDM), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren's syndrome, multiple sclerosis (MS), Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). See List of autoimmune diseases.
The misconception that an individual's immune system is totally incapable of recognising self antigens is not new. Paul Ehrlich, at the beginning of the twentieth century, proposed the concept of horror autotoxicus, wherein a 'normal' body does not mount an immune response against its own tissues. Thus, any autoimmune response was perceived to be abnormal and postulated to be connected with human disease. Now, it is accepted that autoimmune responses are vital to the development and functioning of vertebrate immune systems, and central to the development of immunological tolerance to self-antigens. The latter concept has been termed natural autoimmunity. Autoimmunity should not be confused with alloimmunity.
Low-level autoimmunity
While a high level of autoimmunity is unhealthy, a low level of autoimmunity may actually be beneficial. First, low-level autoimmunity might aid in the recognition of neoplastic cells by CD8+ T cells, and thus reduce the incidence of cancer.
Second, autoimmunity is likely to have a role in allowing a rapid immune response in the early stages of an infection when the availability of foreign antigens limits the response (i.e., when there are few pathogens present). In their study, Stefanova et al. (2002) injected an anti-MHC Class II antibody into mice expressing a single type of MHC Class II molecule (H-2b) to temporarily prevent CD4+ T cell-MHC interaction. Naive CD4+ T cells (those that have not encountered any antigens before) recovered from these mice 36 hours post-anti-MHC administration showed decreased responsiveness to the antigen pigeon cytochrome C peptide, as determined by Zap-70 phosphorylation, proliferation, and Interleukin-2 production. Thus Stefanova et al. (2002) demonstrated that self-MHC recognition (which, if too strong may contribute to autoimmune disease) maintains the responsiveness of CD4+ T cells when foreign antigens are absent.[1] This idea of autoimmunity is conceptually similar to play-fighting. The play-fighting of young cubs (TCR and self-MHC) may result in a few scratches or scars (low-level-autoimmunity), but is beneficial in the long-term as it primes the young cub for proper fights in the future.
Autoimmune diseases
Name
MeSH?
ICD-10
Description
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM)
yes
G04.0
is a form of
encephalitis caused by an autoimmune reaction and typically occurring a
few days or weeks after a viral infection or a
vaccination.
Addison's disease
yes
E27
is often caused by autoimmune destruction of the
adrenal cortex.
Ankylosing spondylitis
yes
M08.1, M45.
is a chronic, painful, progressive inflammatory arthritis
primarily affecting spine and sacroiliac joints, causing eventual fusion of
the spine.
Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS)
yes
D68.8
affects the blood-clotting process. It causes blood clots to
form in veins and/or arteries.
Aplastic anemia
no
D60
is often caused by an autoimmune attack on the
bone
marrow.
Autoimmune hepatitis
no
K75.9
is a disorder wherein the liver is the target of the body's
own immune system.
Autoimmune
Oophoritis
no
N70
is a disorder in which the immune system attacks the female
reproductive organs.
Celiac disease
no
K90.0
is a disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the
proximal portion of the
small intestine caused by exposure to certain dietary
gluten
proteins.
Crohn's disease
no
K50
is a form of
inflammatory bowel disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the
intestinal tract. Major symptoms include abdominal pain and
diarrhea.
There is also a theory that Crohn's Disease is an
infectious disease caused by
Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis.
Diabetes mellitus type 1
yes
E10
when it is characterized by a deficiency or absence of
insulin
production (Type I), is often the consequence of an autoimmune attack on the
insulin-producing
beta
cells in the
islets of Langerhans of the
pancreas.
Gestational pemphigoid
no
O26.4
is a pregnancy-related blistering condition where
autoantibodies are directed against the skin.
Goodpasture's syndrome
yes
M31.0
is a disease characterised by rapid destruction of the
kidneys and
haemorrhaging of the lungs through autoimmune reaction against an
antigen found in both organs.
Graves' disease
yes
E05.0
is the most common form of
hyperthyroidism, and is caused by anti-thyroid antibodies that have the
effect of stimulating (agonist)
the thyroid
into overproduction of
thyroid hormone.
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)
yes
G61.0
is an acquired immune-mediated inflammatory disorder of the
peripheral nervous system (i.e., not the brain and spinal
column). It is also called acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy,
acute idiopathic polyradiculoneuritis, acute idiopathic polyneuritis and
Landry's ascending paralysis.
Hashimoto's disease
yes
E06.3
is a common form of
hypothyroidism, characterised by initial inflammation of the
thyroid,
and, later, dysfunction and goiter. There are several characteristic
antibodies (e.g., anti-thyroglobulin).
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura
yes
D69.3
is an autoimmune disease where the body produces
anti-platelet antibodies resulting in a low platelet count
Kawasaki's Disease
no
M30.3
is often caused by an autoimmune attack on the arteries
around the heart.
Lupus erythematosus
yes
L93, M32
is a chronic (long-lasting) autoimmune disease wherein the
immune system, for unknown reasons, becomes hyperactive and attacks normal
tissue. This attack results in inflammation and brings about symptoms. This
is a "Non-organ-specific" type of autoimmune disease.
Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
has features of other connective tissues diseases — lupus,
rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and polymyositis. The presence of a
specific antibody — called U1-RNP is needed for diagnosis.
Multiple sclerosis
yes
G35
is a disorder of the
central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) characterised by
decreased nerve
function due to
myelin loss and secondary
axonal damage.
Myasthenia gravis
yes
G70.0
is a disorder of
neuromuscular transmission leading to fluctuating weakness and
fatigue. Weakness is caused by circulating antibodies that block (antagonist)
acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction.
Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (OMS)
n/a
n/a
is a neurological disorder that appears to the result of an
autoimmune attack on the nervous system. Symptoms include
opsoclonus,
myoclonus,
ataxia,
intention tremor,
dysphasia,
dysarthria,
mutism,
hypotonia,
lethargy, irritability or
malaise.
About half of all OMS cases occur in association with
neuroblastoma.
Optic neuritis
no
H46
is an
inflammation of the
optic
nerve that may cause a complete or partial loss of vision.
Ord's thyroiditis
n/a
n/a
is a
thyroiditis similar to Hashimoto's disease, except that the thyroid is
reduced in size. In Europe, this form of thyroid inflammation is more common
than Hashimoto's disease.
Pemphigus
yes
L10
is an autoimmune disorder that causes blistering and raw
sores on skin
and
mucous membranes.
Pernicious anaemia
no
D51.0
is an autoimmune disorder characterised by anaemia due to
malabsorption of vitamin B12
Polyarthritis in dogs
n/a
n/a
is an immune reaction severely affecting the joints of dogs.
Although rare and of unknown cause it can render a dog immobile even at a
very young age. Treatment includes cortisone-type drugs.
Primary biliary cirrhosis
no
K74.3
appears to be an autoimmune disease that affects the biliary
epithelial cells (BECs) of the small bile duct in the liver. Although the
cause is yet to be determined, most of the patients (>90%) appear to have
auto-mitochondrial antibodies (AMAs) against pyruvate dehydrogenase complex
(PDC), an enzyme that is found in the mitochondria.
Rheumatoid arthritis
yes
M05-M06
is an autoimmune disorder that causes the body's
immune system to attack the
bone joints.
Reiter's syndrome
no
M02
seems to be an autoimmune attack[citation
needed] on various body systems in response to a
bacterial infection and the body's confusion over the
HLA-B27
marker
Sjögren's syndrome
yes
M35.0
is an autoimmune disorder in which immune cells attack and
destroy the exocrine glands that produce tears and saliva.
Takayasu's arteritis
no
M31.4
is a disorder that results in the narrowing of the lumen of
arteries.
Temporal arteritis (also known as "giant cell arteritis")
yes
M31.5
is an inflammation of blood vessels, most commonly the large
and medium arteries of the head. Untreated, the disorder can lead to
significant vision loss.
Warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia
n/a
D59.1
is a disorder characterized by IgM attack against red blood
cells
Wegener's granulomatosis
no
M31.3
is a form of
vasculitis that affects the lungs, kidneys and other organs.
Suspected
References
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